Evolution
by furaiz
Summary: Dreams come and go, but never truly die. So how does an Ash Ketchum who has decided that his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master is impossible, continue walking through life, step by step? Dreams cause nothing but trouble after all. But perhaps working towards a dream that is especially difficult is so much more satisfying, even in failure. AU. A different start. AshXF
1. Dream

**Dream**

* * *

A bright yellow sun rose over the hills of Pallet Town, bathing the world in a warm blanket of light, as the distinctive crow of a Dodrio alerted all, Pokémon and human alike, to the dawn of a new day. Amidst the crowing, a fourteen year old Ash Ketchum woke up with a disgruntled sigh. It had been four years now, four years to the day to be exact, that he had become a registered Pokémon trainer at the tender age of ten. In fact, he had become a Pokémon trainer along with Gary Oak, the grandson of the renowned Pokémon professor, Samuel Oak. Joining him in this endeavour was his childhood friend, Leaf Green, whom he had known since he was but a baby.

However, unusually for a boy of his age, he had been uninterested in becoming a Pokémon Master, as Gary had shouted out to the world that he would be, on a regular basis. In all honesty, he would be lying if he had said he had never been interested in such a goal, but life always had a way of putting things into perspective. Often harshly too.

In this case, Ash Ketchum was not your ordinary run of the mill happy and carefree child. Unusually serious and mature for his age, even at ten, he had discarded the silly notion of being a Pokémon Master without a second thought. The fanciful dreams and boasts to his mother Delia and his best friend Leaf had been forgotten, thanks mainly to one defining event that changed the way he viewed the world forever. Nothing in life is ever simple. He often imagined that if it had never happened to him, he may have wasted countless years chasing a dream that gained him nothing. And wouldn't that just make him a bitter man when he inevitably gave up?

As he stretched his limbs, easing off the stiffness of early morning, he thought back on the eighth anniversary of his accident. Fate was indeed ironic, having the national day for registering new trainers, happen to be the same day as his accident. Though, four years ago, he had registered himself, he didn't actually consider the day as something to be a bad one, mixing what would normally be the best moment of his life, with a traumatic experience. This day had often been one of quiet reflection for Ash, and became even more important today, as it was the day he decided it was his time to journey out into the wider world.

But eight years ago, it was nothing more than a horrendous event that caused him months of nightmares and sleeplessness. At least he had become stronger as a result, and that was all that was important now. When he was younger and far more impulsive, he had taken to spending days outside, looking for Pokémon for fun. It had been a normal day, Ash exploring the hills and footholds of the mountain range just north of town. He had come back however, missing an eye, and causing his mother a great deal of panic. He was rushed to Viridian Hospital, courtesy of Samuel Oak, who Delia had once been an official assistant for, before quitting to look after her child. Ash had remained tight-lipped about what had actually happened, before folding and tearfully confessing all that had happened to his gently coaxing mother. It transpired that he had tripped over a rock and taken a little tumble. Now that wasn't all of the story, as he haltingly explained how he had smashed straight into a Sandslash, the evolved form of Sandshrew, and with deadly claws to boot. The Sandslash could perhaps be forgiven for acting out of instinct and anger, but this shattered Ash's world view on how all Pokémon were intrinsically good. Though even that was not the whole story, which didn't come out until he registered as a trainer at ten years of age.

Needless to say, his mother was distraught that the cause of her son's pain was a Pokémon, and that she had failed in her duty to protect her only child. Things had been quite awkward for several months as Ash seemed to become depressed, along with the standard nightmares about vicious, shapeless Pokémon with bloody claws, which were expected. It had been made awkward by Delia's self-recrimination, further compounded by the fact that even Professor Oak had reluctantly admitted that she should have taken more interest in her son's whereabouts. She could barely look her son in the eye… and that was just a cruel reminder of her failure every time she realised she could never actually look him in the eyes again. Even when she did, she could hardly find the words to say, so she instead desperately searched for the bright side, often going as far as blinding herself to the reality of the situation. She often seemed a little mad at times, wittering on about how his eye patch made him look distinguished, and that was all that mattered. At least, one thing got through to her son amidst her half-sane ramblings at the time. Losing an eye wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to him. And so began his quest to think of things so much worse than that. He could imagine more gruesome injuries, paralysis, being totally blind, dead even, but nothing was worse than an unfulfilled dream that you had devoted your life to achieving.

And he had come to his conclusion so much earlier than even some adults did, if at all. So he gave up on his dreams, and instead focused on things he could actually do. Flights of fancy were left by the wayside. In the end, he had come to the conclusion that he wanted to see the world, and experience what life had to offer.

Today was the day that his adventure began. The day that he took his first steps out into the wider world, four years after the first trainers of his generation had already taken their first walk into the wild. Four years since he had-

"_Ash, you're daydreaming again."_ A soft feminine voice murmured in his mind.

Blinking himself out of his stupor, he turned his head to look at his greatest friend, who was staring at him from her vantage point on top of his dresser, with her soft purple eyes and white irises staring at him with a slight hint of boredom. Her fine lilac fur looked silky smooth, and her twin forked tail curled around her, but his attention was always drawn to the gleaming red gem on her forehead, and the soft slightly whitening tufts of fur under her large and distinctive ears. All in all, she was a beautiful specimen of an Espeon, as Professor Oak had told him. Ash didn't particularly care for other's opinions, but to him, she was the reason his journey was becoming a reality. And without her, he didn't think he'd be the young man he was today.

As he looked at her eyes, he was once again drawn back into a memory of the past, as she seemed to huff slightly amused at his wandering thoughts once more.

It had been nearly eight years since he had met Efi, the name he used for her, much to her delight at the time. Back then, she was but an Eevee, who had ran across him when he come afoul of the Sandslash. Though he barely noticed at the time, she had tackled the Sandslash, drawing its attention as Ash scrambled away and ran for home, holding his hands to the right side of his face, covering what was later hidden by an eye patch. It had been a few months later before they met again, Ash having overcome his fear of Pokémon, and in the midst of deciding where his life was headed. He was nearly seven at that point, and had already decided he needed a new goal in life. At first, neither of them recognised the other, but Efi remembered first, having eventually driven off the Sandslash, recognising the familiar human scent. It hadn't taken much longer for Ash to connect the vague memory of a brown charging creature barrelling into Sandslash with the Eevee bouncing around in front of him with excitement. And since then, they had forged an unbreakable friendship, spending almost every day in each other's company, Efi because she had no other Pokémon to spend time with, and Ash because he couldn't bear being cooped up inside a melancholy house.

That soon changed as Ash's happiness improved, also affecting Delia, and his home life restored itself to some semblance of familiarity. Of course, the underlying worry of his mother was always present, but her pain slowly dulled. Barely two years after they had become steadfast friends, and Ash even dared to consider her part of the family, she evolved into a Pokémon he had never seen before. It was a few short months later that the first reports on the discovery of a new Eevee evolution had come out of Johto, finally giving Ash a name for the Pokémon he had befriended. Espeon.

By this time, he was now nine and just over a year away from registering as a trainer. It was also around this time that he had come to the conclusion that he wanted to explore the world, meet people and Pokémon, and be able to look back on his life with no regrets once he finally settled down. During this time, it was then that Efi first spoke to him. It had seemed gradual at times, he somehow thought he could hear snippets of her speech as they played around and spent time together, but it finally came to him one day, as she spoke the first full sentence via telepathy. _"Can you hear me Ash?" _she had called often, until the day he could return the answer. _"I can hear you Efi." _He had cried out in rare joy. He had found it odd that she rarely spoke out loud in Pokéspeech as most people referred to it as, but then again he rarely spoke either. Perhaps it was this uniqueness that had developed a form of communication that no Espeon recorded was capable of. In fact, it was supposed to be beyond the physiological capabilities of the species, but even Ash understood that not everything was explainable. Some things were just meant to be.

Eventually, he turned ten, and registration was looming ever closer. He had confided in his mother at this time, that he planned on sticking around for a few more years, citing wanting to learn how to look after himself when he went travelling. Delia had been reluctant to let him go at ten, but his reassurances and the fact he was going to be around for a few more years before she had to let her little man out into the world, made all the difference.

Efi would remain his secret for a while yet. Not to say that he couldn't trust his mother or Professor Oak, but Efi was _his_, a part of _his family_, a sister in all but blood, and a part of his heart forevermore. Besides, who said he ever had to tell anyone of his and Efi's ability to communicate directly to each other? That could be a family secret, so to speak.

Eventually, the day came. Ash had broken his alarm clock when it first rang with a bang of his fist, before settling back into his sleep. Naturally, this meant he was rather late for collecting a Pokémon from Professor Oak. Still, he didn't rush, merely joining his mother for breakfast, before freshening up and walking out towards the lab, absently touching a finger to the Pokéball he had in his jacket pocket. Stifling a sudden urge to grin, he continued on to where Professor Oak awaited him.

Having reached the lab, the sight that greeted him was as predictable as it was oddly amusing. Gary Oak was bragging to all his female fans about how he'd put Pallet Town on the map, as it were. He turned to Ash when he noticed him, already beginning to boast that he had taken the strongest Pokémon for himself, and that Ash would never be able to face up to him and his might. Ash simply looked at him blankly, causing Gary to scowl at his lack of reaction, before Leaf interrupted what was certainly going to be a string of unintelligible insults coming out of the arrogant Oak's mouth, inquiring nicely as to how Ash was doing, and talking about the Pokémon that were available.

In Kanto, the region that he lived in, there were three Pokémon that were gifted to trainers by Professor Oak. One was a Charmander, an orange, bipedal, reptilian creature. It was a fire-type, and it eventually evolved into a Charmeleon, as he had learnt from his studies, and then into the monstrous and draconian Charizard. It wasn't a dragon type per se, but it was a ferocious Pokémon, the average standing at around eight foot and weighing in around ninety kilograms. Of course, amongst all species, each Pokémon had their own unique personality, and many differed from the norm. Professor Oak's Charizard for example, stood at a colossal eleven feet tall for a Charizard, and weighed in even heavier than the average. It was easy to forget that Samuel Oak was once a brilliant trainer, and a ferocious battler who gave no quarter, as evidenced by some of his Pokémon, his Charizard in particular. That thing had battled thousands upon thousands of times, honing it's prowess and fuelling its spirit. That battle-scarred monstrosity was an inspiration to even the haughtiest of Charizards, having crafted itself a timeless legacy of unending victories, before it retired peacefully along with his old master Oak. Even today, Lance's Charizard respected the fierce warrior that Oak's was, even if time had dulled his claws slightly, it was still a born fighter at heart.

Another starter that could be chosen was the grass-type Bulbasaur, picked out by Leaf, who was fond of flowers and plant life in general. Bulbasaur fit her personality well, being well-mannered and a lover of plant-life too. They were quadrupeds, with blue-ish green skin with dark patches of teal mixed in. On their backs they had a green bulb, grown from a seed they had at birth. Eventually they evolved into Ivysaur, before becoming a Venusaur. Where there once was a bulb, would now be a giant flower, supported by a thick brown trunk. The average stood at six foot and weighed in at a hundred kilograms.

The final starter was the water-type Squirtle, which Gary had chosen as his starter Leaf explained, and proclaimed to be the strongest Pokémon out of all of the starters. It was a small blue creature, encased with a hard turtle shell, yellow underneath and brown on top. It was remarkably tough and well suited for traversing water. It evolved into Wartortle, before the final evolution of Blastoise. It was a large bipedal creature, with thick arms and a stubby tail. Its shell held two cannons capable of firing powerful blasts of water. The average stood at five foot and weighed in around eighty-five kilograms.

These starter Pokémon were bred by professional breeders specifically for the purpose of new trainers. They were rather rare in the wild, and such a programme was necessary at times. For others who were unable to get a starter Pokémon, they often had to get a wild Pokémon if necessary, or use one that belonged to the family.

Having spoken briefly to Leaf about her Bulbasaur, she eventually asked whether he wanted to come along with her to keep each other company. She seemed to be oddly shy about asking, but Ash initially chalked this up to nervousness about possibly being rejected. Though he later realised it was because she had a little crush on him. He never brought it up though, not wanting to get into that weirdness with someone he had only ever considered a friend. Hopefully she'd grow out of it. Of course at the time, Leaf had realised that all of the starter Pokémon had gone, but Ash had quickly misdirected her by egging her on to go and get her journey underway and catch some new friends for her Bulbasaur. Just because he didn't speak often didn't mean he was incapable of using the power of suggestion, as it were. He could tell she was itching to get going, and she only needed a little push in the right direction.

Finally, having seen Leaf walking off towards the edge of town and the woods with a big grin on her face, and Gary Oak make his exit with a car filled with giggling girls, he finally allowed himself a moment to quirk his lips in a small smile, before heading up the many steps towards Oak's laboratory.

Stopping in to see Oak, the old man had the gall to ask him what starter he wanted, somehow forgetting he had already given them all away. Oak had then mentioned that unfortunately he had no Pokémon to give away, and that Ash should have gotten there on time. At this point, Ash coolly pointed out that someone would have come away without a Pokémon anyway and that was just bad planning on his part. But considering that he didn't need a Pokémon from Oak, there was no issue.

At this point, Oak looked at him with confusion before slight comprehension took a hold of him. He began to talk about the fact that his accident didn't mean he shouldn't be a trainer, but Ash yet again cut him off, saying that the only reason he didn't need a Pokémon was that he already had one. He only required registering it.

So Professor Oak was now suitably curious at this fact and asked to see her, having been told that his Pokémon was female. Ash allowed a subtle smile to form on his face as he pulled out a Pokéball, before smoothly releasing Efi, much to Oak's disbelief. _"An Espeon? My boy, do you have any idea how rare that Pokémon is!?"_

"_Does it matter?" _Ash had returned with a sigh. _"It's not as if she's a Pokémon you've never seen before."_

Thankfully, Oak quickly let the matter drop, only commenting on how she seemed to be an extremely healthy specimen of her species, before programming the relevant details into Ash's black Pokédex with navy blue trim around the edges.

Ash then quietly informed Professor Oak that he would be around Pallet for a while yet, learning some things about looking after himself and his Pokémon in the wilderness from his mother, as Oak merely nodded in acknowledgement. As a friend of his mother's he had already heard about it, mainly because she called him up immediately and waxed lyrical about her boy spending more time with her.

"_Is your trip down memory lane finished yet? Only, some of us would like to eat and get going."_ Efi voiced dryly, snapping Ash out of his pondering.

"_I suppose it is Efi."_ Ash replied smoothly. _"I'll join you downstairs after I get ready. Mom will be doing some breakfast, but knowing her, it's probably an entire feast, given what day it is."_

"_Alright. See you!"_ Efi replied with a slight cheer, before bouncing off the dresser and landing lightly on her lithe legs with natural poise, tails waving gently behind her. Ash couldn't be certain if that was a characteristic shared by all Espeon, or his Efi was simply one of those naturally graceful Pokémon. Efi looked back at him with a happy glow in her eyes, before the moment passed and she sprinted out of the room, footfalls incredibly light and almost silent as she did so.

Ash shook his head wryly for a moment, before snatching up a towel to grab an early shower. It wouldn't be long now.

* * *

**/**

At fourteen, Ash had come a long way since he was a young boy, his stature naturally relaxed, and almost lazy at times, standing around five foot nine, slightly above average, but he had remained in Pallet for several more years, and was often fed very well by his doting mother. As such, he had grown up pretty well, though he still had more to go. During his lessons, he often spent much time helping Oak look after the Pokémon on his property, having a large area of land dedicated to housing as many Pokémon as naturally and as comfortable as possible. He was fairly trim and fit, mostly due to his work with Oak's Pokémon habitats, though he still carried a faint scar across his right eye, mostly covered by his distinctive eye patch that everyone in town recognised. Of course, he didn't need the eye patch, but seeing a completely white and dead eye as opposed to his other deep and calming brown, was not something most people liked, and neither did Ash enjoy displaying it for all to see. The eye patch didn't stop many of the girls from liking him though, as he was deemed fairly attractive. The eye patch was just a hint of intrigue and danger that seemed to call to quite a few women too, and not just the girls around his age.

His mother relentlessly teased him about this, though Ash believed she only did that to try and take her mind off what had actually happened, though she no longer allowed her failure to run her life. As he grew older though, he became less and less affected by her pokes about romance. Ash had since come to the realisation that his mother was incredibly crafty. By constantly enforcing the idea of romance, she had practically made it so that romance didn't seem to repulse him like it would most young children who had yet to learn the ways of the world. He had gone through a phase where he couldn't even talk to a girl in full sentences because of what his mother would say, but he eventually spoke to them as normally as any other person, when he wanted to talk, that was.

Having dried himself off, he pulled on his clothes, and began collecting his gear. He was wearing a white shirt, fitting close to his skin, and showing the slight hint of muscle beneath. This was paired with a simple pair of blue jeans for ease of trekking though the wild, and a black duster jacket over the top, providing a lot of warmth and protection from the weather. He wore a pair of padded black fingerless gloves, and a sturdy pair of black hiking boots as well. Aside from that, he had a black shoulder bag, accented with a navy blue Poké Ball insignia, and settling against his right hip. Looking at himself in the mirror and giving a quick nod as if to say, _'You're Ready'_, he turned around hearing his mother call out to him.

"Come on dear, breakfast is ready and poor Efi is waiting for you!" Delia called out in good cheer, voice carrying up the stairs.

"Coming now mom!" Ash called back simply. Pausing for a moment to pick up Efi's Pokéball, he smiled wistfully before shutting his bedroom door behind him, the last time he would do so this year he thought to himself. Ash wouldn't stay away much longer than a year at a time, he had said, wanting to come back and share stories of his adventures, even though he could do it by phone, it was not going to be the same.

Finally traipsing into the kitchen, he was greeted by a firm hug from Delia, who seemed slightly tearful at his little farewell today. She knew he'd ring up as often as he could, but she would miss having her little man around the house, particularly having been a big help these past few years. He had learnt to cook and clean, look after his clothes and all manner of odd things here and there. This in turn allowed him to help around the house even more, meaning Delia could spend a little more time working on her garden, one of her pride and joys, the other being Ash.

Finally getting out of the superhuman strength hug that only mothers could have, Ash seated himself down for breakfast. Breakfast fit for a king, it seemed, with all manner of his favourites there, and in large quantities that perhaps only Ash would have managed out of all the denizens of Pallet Town. He used to wolf down food as rapidly as he could, but he had matured over the years and now seemed to act like the perfect gentleman at meals. That said, the amount he could put away was still legendary all over Pallet Town.

The meal was partaken of in companionable silence, neither Ash nor Delia needing to say anything more. The food now having dwindled into small leftovers, all having eaten their fill, Ash rose from his seat smoothly, before putting his jacket back on, followed by his gloves and bag. Efi took this moment to hop up onto the bag, burrowing in slightly until only her head and front paws were visible poking out of it.

Running a hand through his onyx hair for a moment, Ash tried to find some words to say before he left his mother to go on his adventure. However, seemingly understanding that he found it difficult to find words to say, Delia spoke for them both.

"You had best be going now dear. You'll want to be well on your way by nightfall, and you need a good spot to stay at." She smiled tremulously. "Don't go forgetting your mother now dear, and ring me when you get to Viridian City."

This settled Ash's worries about leaving his mother alone. "Of course. I'll ring as often as I can. I should hit Viridian in a few days, Efi will want to explore a little first." He spoke calmly, with a small smile as he mentioned Efi's desire to go exploring.

"Of course dear!" she replied, face lighting up happily. "And look after him for me, won't you Efi?"

"_He'd be hopeless without me!"_ Efi voiced loudly, almost causing Ash to wince, and though Delia could not hear her telepathic shout, Efi's nod of the head was enough for her.

As Ash was just about to leave though, Delia left him a parting comment that caused him to groan slightly, and his eye to twitch.

"And don't forget to change your underwear every day!" she sang out as one foot had stepped out the front door.

Huffing a silent sigh, he replied without looking back. "Take care mom." Strolling down the path and turning right to head up the hill, he glanced back for a moment, seeing his mother waving cheerily at him. He simply raised his hand in acknowledgment, before turning back and walking away footsteps lightening as he did so.

* * *

**/**

"_We're finally going aren't we?"_ Efi murmured suddenly, slightly apprehensively.

"_Yes."_ Ash replied simply.

"_It's really happening."_ Efi added with a slight twitch of her ears, as she craned her head around to watch the houses disappear into the background, beyond her keen eyesight.

"_A whole new adventure."_ Ash returned with a slight knowing glance at the nervous Espeon riding in his bag.

"_I'm nervous too Efi."_ He added with a sigh. _"We're doing something completely new, but I know we can handle it. We're prepared aren't we?"_

"_I should hope so!"_ Efi piped up. _"I wanted to go four years ago!"_

Biting back the retort he wanted to reply with, he instead chuckled quietly before replying. _"Well thank you for waiting for me."_

At this, Efi looked at him with shining purple eyes. _"You're my family. I would always wait for you."_ She remarked with a tangible tone of honesty.

Ash merely hummed for a split second in reply, casting his eyes on the road ahead. They were now nearing the edge of town, and the Pokémon Lab, where he had promised to stop by before he left.

"_Need to say bye to the old duffer before we go Efi."_ Ash initiated conversation this time. _"We owe him a great deal."_

"_Ah he'll just be happy you're out of his hair."_ Efi replied glibly. _"Though I wouldn't be averse to listening to him compliment my beauty. You don't do it often enough for my liking."_ She added haughtily.

"_Just because I don't say it every five minutes?"_ Ash remarked, with the familiar tone of a conversation often revisited.

"_Exactly."_ Efi nodded affirmatively.

"_And I keep telling you, I've always considered you beautiful." _Ash pointed out calmly. _"I don't need to tell you, because you already know."_

"_That's true."_ Efi conceded. _"Still, it's nice to hear."_

Ash deigned not to reply to that comment, having proven his point already, instead pausing as he reached the greying-white steps leading up to Oak's Laboratory. As he slowly ascended them, he began to slowly feel the excitement that always thrummed through his veins when he was younger, and now it was itching at him, as though it were an entity of its own, almost trying to get Ash to run out into the wild, and to freedom. He reigned in the slight impulse though, his heart only quickening slightly, as he knocked on the door, calling out for Oak.

"Hey Professor! Stopping by to see you!"

"_Me too!"_ Efi called out beside him, yet again reminding Ash that she just liked to irritate him, especially as no other Pokémon or human could hear her telepathic chatter. It was something special that had formed between them after years together, something he felt would forever bind them together, though neither of them ever conceived the thought of not being together, even in their darkest nightmares.

A moment later, the door was opened, revealing Samuel Oak with a small smile on his face. He was wearing a white lab coat with a smart red formal shirt underneath, along with beige cargo pants and brown loafers. His slightly greying brown hair indicated his advancing age, though his black eyes seemed to shine with youth not yet extinguished.

"Ash! Efi!" he called out with a smile. "Today's the day hm?"

"Yes Professor." Ash replied simply, stepping inside when Oak gestured him to.

"Have you given any thought as to what you're going to do Ash?" Oak cocked an eyebrow at him curiously. "Exploring is all well and good, but what do you want to do?"

"Well, I was planning on travelling off the beaten path, with Efi here." Ash replied after a moment's thought. "We're both looking for sights to see that the regular trainer would never run into, I suppose."

"How about taking the Pokémon League Challenge? You might find a little spark of inspiration there." Oak hummed in reply, as he picked up a pot of noodles he had set aside for lunch.

"I gave up on being a Pokémon master ages ago professor." Ash replied with a sigh. "I realised that's not what I want."

"That's all well and good, but who says you need to dream of being a master to do such a thing?" Oak smirked slightly at the slightly confused look now on Ash's face.

"What do you mean professor?" Ash queried smoothly.

"Oh I'm only saying you don't have to want to be a master to be a battler, if you understand my meaning." Oak returned shrewdly. "Besides, I know that beautiful Espeon of yours is quite the adrenaline junkie."

"That's true…" Ash replied hesitantly.

"_Old man has it right Ash!"_ Efi chimed in. _"We aren't always content with just living life and exploring. To battle is our instinct!"_

"You know, Pokémon aren't just creatures that live in perfect harmony in the wild." Oak started in his soft lecturing tone. "Life with a trainer is often better than in the wild, but not in all cases of course." He added, placating Ash for a moment. "Besides, Pokémon are born with the instinct to grow stronger, to fight for their territory, their survival. I know most kids your age wouldn't even consider the actual implications of life in the wild, but I know you're a deep thinker. Wouldn't you want to make your Pokémon as happy as they can be?"

"Sure, not every Pokémon has the instinct to enjoy battle, but they all know there are times when it's necessary to survive. They fight for resources, land, and food, anything they require to live." Oak continued. "Not every group of Pokémon can live peacefully with each other. They're not perfect beings that live lives of pure goodness, though not many act out of malice, some still do."

At this, Ash could only nod in response, having come to that conclusion years ago. Pokémon were not perfect, after all. That was only an optimist's view, rather than the realistic view of them.

"It's because of this instinct to battle, that they take so well to Pokémon trainers. They fit into the world so seamlessly, it's like one was not meant to exist without the other, don't you agree?" Oak ended.

Ash couldn't help but agree. He felt that he couldn't really exist without Pokémon in the world. The Pokémon were integral to the world in which he lived. Without them, everything would lose meaning. And if he had never met Efi, where would he be now? The mere thought was bone chilling.

"Take it from me. The relationship between Humans and Pokémon is all about give and take." Oak added a moment later. "If your Pokémon is happy, won't you be as well? There are those who don't respect these values today, organisations like Team Rocket only consider them tools, for example."

"Disgusting." Ash interjected with a faint hint of anger, before his face smoothed over into his usual cool expression.

"Quite." Oak nodded in confirmation. "I believe Pokémon will live beyond the age of humanity, you know?" he asked rhetorically, causing Ash to raise his eyebrow in curiosity. "It is merely up to us, what we decide to do with our fleeting lives on this earth."

"Why would you say Pokémon battle so hard for their trainers?" Oak again questioned rhetorically, Ash watching him stoically as he spoke.

"It's because they can see the love and trust they have for them." Oak pointed out with a smile.

"Every Pokémon is different. Some are peace loving, others enjoy the thrill of battle. Help them obtain their dreams, and they will fight their hardest to help you obtain yours." Oak sighed. "Life will always be richer because of these magnificent creatures. Let the Pokémon shape your desires, Ash, and you will have no regrets."

"_Old man has a way with words."_ Efi interjected smoothly, cutting through the silence of Ash's mind. _"What do you say? Let's go show off my beauty and power on the world stage!"_ she ended with an excited shout.

Finally, Ash responded with a wry smile. "A way with words huh?" he murmured.

"You got my attention Professor." He spoke to the curious Oak, having seen him mumble under his breath for a moment. "I guess I might as well give it a shot."

"Excellent!" Oak beamed at him. "I know you'll love putting that thinker's brain of yours into action in Pokémon battles. You're the kind of young man that puts everything he has into achieving something, and you always have been!"

"You manipulated me into this though, old man." Ash suddenly spoke up with an irritated tick. "Even Efi is buying into this now."

"I like to think of it as trying to convince you." Oak replied hastily. "I _certainly_ would never stoop so low as to have to guilt trip you into doing such a thing!"

"It's just as well you know I hate taking back my word." Ash scowled slightly, causing Oak to pale rapidly.

"Now now, we both know you could do it if you really wanted to!" Oak pointed out with a slightly nervous chuckle.

At this, Ash simply scowled even more harshly, causing Oak to quickly change the subject.

"A-Anyway, you should register in Viridian City at the Pokémon Center with your Pokédex. Nurse Joy will be happy to assist!" Oak hurriedly threw out. "There's a gym there too, but you need seven badges for that one. I assume you already know about the gyms?"

"Yes." Ash replied with a narrowed eye and a harsh voice.

"G-Good!" Oak shivered.

"I think I'll go now Professor." Ash added calmly, though the twitching of his hands indicated that he wanted to do far more than just leave.

"Of course!" Oak replied rapidly, ushering Ash and Efi to the door at a near sprint, before wrenching it open, allowing them to step through.

However, before Ash could turn away and leave, Oak piped up once more. "Dreams never die Ash. Remember that." Then he quickly shut the door, the visible sound of locks and deadbolts from behind it now being used.

Gritting his teeth for a moment, he finally turned away and descended the stairs. "Dreams are nothing but trouble, you old duffer." He murmured, exhaling his annoyance gently.

"_I'd say dreams that are easy to achieve are boring."_ Efi sighed, causing Ash to tense slightly in response as he walked. _"What does it matter if you fail anyway? I know you're already expecting to, so why not just have fun along the way?"_

"_I suppose I might as well enjoy the adventure." _Ash eventually replied. _"Ah what the hell, might as well just do the best I can and have fun with the Pokémon we befriend."_

"_You said it!"_

* * *

**AN 20.08.2014**

**This fic is an exercise in writing about dreams and aspirations, and the bumpy road to fulfilment and even the dark side of humanity. Sometimes never getting there, but enjoying the journey is something people may have experienced in reality. So this is a fic grounded in some kind of reality, while hopefully retaining the magic of the Pokémon world. Will Ash achieve all he wishes to? Probably not. Dreams evolve all the time. What you start with, may not be where you finish. Will he be satisfied? Is anyone ever satisfied? Maybe. Needless to say, this fic will not be your standard kids fare, it's more suited for more grown up readers. This will be replacing Variance when the second chapter is written.**

******Can I just say, if you're reading for a certain pairing, just stop now, or throw away your deepest and darkest fantasies for this. I may inadvertently fulfil some, but that's nothing I can really stop. This is the journey through life of Ash Ketchum, and not an exercise in harems and daft romantic comedy. This is grounded in reality. Nothing is ever so easy. Some people click, others need to work at it. Sometimes, it doesn't work even when trying to make it work. **

******I intend to write Ash in such a way, that you may not be clear on who fits him best if any fit him best at all. Would I say there's a perfect fit? No, don't be stupid – there's no such thing! I will not write a character that perfectly suits another. To complement each other, perhaps, but not to be the perfect other half, as it were. Will it end with a defined relationship? To be honest, it may not. I am intending to end it with an established relationship, but if the mood strikes me in a particular manner, it may never end up resolved in such a way. There is a resolution whatever Ash's dreams eventually become though. There is a reason it's Adventure/Romance and not Romance/Adventure.**

**And it's not AshxEspeon or any kind of HumanxPokémon. Ash and Espeon have an unbreakable relationship, but not a romantic one. You'll eventually understand how deep their relationship is, but no one ever said it had to be romantic. Love, perhaps, but romantic, nah. Love doesn't mean one thing, and that's something so many writers of romance forget. I intend to write an AshxF pairing, so no slash either.**

**I fully intend to write this in such a way, that you'll not mind who Ash ends up with, and merely be satisfied or thrilled, or whatever, with it, unless it really doesn't work at all. Unlikely, since I know what I'm doing, or at least, I like to think so. I also intend it to be an unorthodox one, or one rarely used, but plans can change as the characters evolve. I doubt I'll write a shipping that doesn't exist in some form, but I won't be writing a romance with any of his companions, particularly after Kanto as the age discrepancies kick in. They're all far too naive, wouldn't you agree already?**

**Final Note: I am unsure whether I will complete this fic after the Kanto Arc, and write a sequel for each region he goes to, but it depends on the final word count by the time I reach the Indigo League - plus there's not only Kanto characters introduced. Pokémon he catches are planned through all regions - but I may add one or two if you give me a good suggestion I hadn't thought of.**

**Fic planned right to Sinnoh League at the moment - may be writing in the Unova journey too, by that time, I believe Ash would be 19 or 20 by that point, assuming that Orange Islands and Kanto will be 1 year, and Hoenn and the Battle Frontier are also one year, otherwise he may be 20-21, depending on what I do. Also some interesting facts to note - I have a several thousand word document dedicated to one character in particular, called Giovanni, who will have a big part to play in Kanto, tapering off later on in his travels though. Should be good.**

**Til next time!**


	2. Dusk and the Roaring Stream

**Dusk and the Roaring Stream**

* * *

"_Cannon Fodder."_ Efi remarked casually, eyeing a twitching Spearow she had just ruthlessly dispatched. It seemed to be cawing weakly, while its wings and legs seemed unable to support its own weight at the moment.

"_You didn't tell me we weren't likely to find any strong Pokémon around here. They're all practically babies!"_ she whined petulantly at Ash, who simply sighed as the Spearow recovered and ran off, scampering into the nearest bush out of fright.

"_Is it any wonder?"_ Ash responded with a knowing air. _"We've been working together on making you as strong as you can be for about eight years now. It's obvious you'll be able to flatten most wild Pokémon with ease."_

"_Still, I want a challenge!" _Efi grumbled slightly, as she hopped back into Ash's bag, head poking out once more.

"_You want a challenge?"_ Ash stopped walking for a moment, as he looked at her with a strange glint in his eye.

"_Is it too late to change my mind?"_ Efi suddenly voiced nervously, as a chill ran up her spine. _"Cos, I can always not complain anymore! Ash?"_

"_Nuuu! Don't make me!"_ she wailed all of a sudden, seeing just where Ash was intending to go.

* * *

**/**

"_I hate you."_ Efi griped at him once more, as Ash trekked through the middle of the forest, the midday sun only filtering in slightly through the gnarled and leafy trees, growing thick and dense, and slowly closing them in on all sides. _"I really hate you."_ She reiterated.

"_Be glad I'm not making you walk."_ Ash simply pointed out, causing Efi to stiffen and rapidly shake her head.

"_I'll shut up now!"_ she squeaked.

At this, Ash simply sighed. Efi's antics were often either irritating at times, or brightened his day. Mostly the former, though he wouldn't trade her for the world. It had only been a few hours since he left Oak's lab, grumbling about being coerced into trying the Pokémon League Challenge. Of course, Oak had unwittingly gained an ally in that regard with Efi, so he couldn't just outright refuse, especially since he'd promised to make Efi the best Espeon out there. He couldn't refuse to help her achieve her goal, not when they were so close to each other. He only hoped she wouldn't turn out jaded like him, if she ever decided she couldn't do it.

"_Besides Efi, if you want to find the strong ones, you need to search for the hardest territory to maintain."_ Ash added. _"Strong Pokémon are often found there. Or, as you know, they form communities to make it easier. Bird and bug Pokémon especially."_

"_And if it so happens that a single Pokémon controls such a territory, they'll almost certainly be tough." _Ash grinned slightly as Efi cocked her head at him curiously.

"_Can't promise they'll be tough enough for you though."_ He frowned slightly. _"But we can always train a Pokémon to give you a sparring challenge too."_

"_Sounds cool to me!"_ Efi cheerfully input.

"_In any case, the strongest Pokémon are usually trainer Pokémon, so you'll have to wait until we get one to battle for that kind of challenge."_ Ash added, as he violently wrenched a thick branch out of his path. _"Heh. This place is becoming pretty rough."_

"If I can handle Oak's habitats, I can get through this twisted place." Ash murmured to himself.

Eventually, Ash had managed to force his way through the steadily thickening forest, breaking into a clearing of sorts, yet completely overshadowed by the tallest trees he'd seen so far. Not even a spot of light could penetrate the dense canopy above him, bathing the area in virtual darkness. Twisted branches and the like seemed to become warped in the dark, the area seemingly becoming eerily silent, with no rustling of leaves, branches, or even the slight murmur of wind. Even Efi's eyes seemed to give off an unnatural glow in the gloom, a slight purple sheen that stood out from everything else around them. Her ears twitched rapidly, trying to find a hint of any sound at all.

"_I really hate you."_ Efi stressed, as her head turned from left to right, trying to identify exactly what it was that was unnerving her so.

At this, Ash grimaced slightly, understanding what Efi was trying to convey. In his mind it was a shout for getting the hell out of there immediately, even if she had controlled her own nerves at this point. It was merely another battle she needed to face, and she was doing the best she could.

"_I know."_ Ash replied soothingly. _"But this is life. Nothing is always easy."_

At this, Efi huffed silently, before she suddenly tensed and became completely still, ears rigid, and eyes fixed on one point in the distance. _"Found it."_ She stated coolly, as she slipped out of Ash's bag stealthily.

"_Good girl."_ Ash gently complimented her. _"Do it."_ He added firmly.

"_Gladly!"_ Efi shouted, before the entire clearing flooded with incredible blinding light, causing a piercing shriek to ring out before it was quickly cut off by a rumbling wave of energy that seemed to tear itself out of Efi, her eyes glowing bright blue, and her crimson gem sparkling with intoxicating power, as she stood on the floor, head held proudly, stance firm and strong with her forked tail swaying behind her. A single moment later, Ash launched a Pokéball, Efi directing it with her psychic prowess, and sucking up the Pokémon in a flash of white light. It rattled for what seemed like an age, before a click sounded loudly in the area, indicating a capture. Quickly throwing the ball back to Ash, Efi's eyes dropped back into her normal purple with white irises, before she curled herself into his bag again.

"_Still not good enough for me."_ She grumbled moodily. _"And you know I hate the dark."_

"_I know Efi. As long as you don't fear it, that's just fine." _Ash sighed, as he placed the Pokéball onto his belt, to look at later. _"Sooner we leave now, the happier you'll be right?"_

"_You said it."_ She replied huffily.

* * *

**/**

A short while later, Ash had cut through the forest in a slightly different direction, heading towards the stream that he knew ran in that general direction, before coming alongside the path between Viridian City and Pallet Town. Efi had eventually managed to pick out the sound of running water amidst the general sounds of the forest, helping direct them more accurately towards their goal.

Efi's joy at finally seeing the sun once more was almost contagious, but it was only expected, Espeon being referred to as the Sun Pokémon, and having being discovered to evolve only under the sun, if exceptionally happy, though that was a point of contention between researchers. Happiness couldn't actually be quantified, but they did at least seem to accept that a poorly looked after Eevee wouldn't evolve into an Espeon, or even its counterpart, the Moonlight Pokémon, Umbreon, regardless of the conditions of the day.

Having set up a makeshift camp for an hour or two, Ash had checked his captured Pokémon by scanning its ball with his Pokédex. An electronic voice quickly identified what was contained within.

"Pidgey, the tiny bird Pokémon."

"Pidgey has an extremely sharp sense of direction and homing instincts. It can locate its nest even when far removed from familiar surroundings. Pidgey is a docile Pokémon, and generally prefers to flee from its enemies rather than fight them. Pidgey protects itself and flushes out potential prey by flapping its wings rapidly and throwing up dust clouds."

"Sex: Male."

"Ability: Keen Eye."

"Known Moves: Gust, Aerial Ace, Tackle, Quick Attack, Faint Attack and Wing Attack."

Ash let out a low whistle of satisfaction, as he put away the Pokédex before palming Pidgey's pokéball.

"_Pidgey huh? Well that's lucky. And it even has quite a few strong moves." _Ash pondered while talking to Efi.

"_Aren't Pidgey docile?"_ Efi looked at him curiously. _"That's what it said right?"_

"_Yeah." _Ash nodded, as he rolled the ball in his hand absently.

"_How do you explain what that Pidgey was doing there?" _Efi inquired, eyes lighting up slightly in interest.

"_Hmm. Well, the Pidgey line can't normally learn moves such as Faint Attack. If I had to guess, perhaps one of its parent's was a Honchkrow? It would explain the behaviour, and probably why it was hanging around in such a gloomy place." _Ash frowned slightly. _"I know that parents are capable of passing on moves they've learnt, either from birth, where they instinctually know it, or by being taught by that particular species of Pokémon. It takes a rather determined one to learn in the second way. That almost never happens in the wild."_

"_Besides, you won't see a Honchkrow around Kanto, unless it's a trainer one."_ Ash pointed out. _"I'd place my bets on it being a parental trait. Particularly as it's Faint Attack. I don't think that's even possible to teach a Pidgey whose direct parents don't include a Honchkrow."_

"_Sometimes I forget you've studied Pokémon for years. I'll buy the explanation. Now are you gonna let the guy out?" _Efi conceded gracefully, before it turned into a slight whine at wanting to actually meet the Pidgey outside of such a dark place.

"_Yeah sure. We need to grab a bite to eat and make sure the guy isn't too battered by what you did."_ Ash nodded. _"No, I'm not saying you were too rough Efi." _He placated her, before calmly releasing the Pidgey.

"Come on out Pidgey." He prompted as the ball opened with a burst of light, directed at a tree stump near the river.

Ash took one look at the Pidgey that appeared, before blurting out in his surprise, and much to Efi's shock and its chagrin. "Well you're an unusual one aren't you?"

It looked a little dazed from the effects of the Psychic, but what grabbed Ash's immediate attention were the odd glossy black tail feathers, mixed in with the standard brown feathers of normal Pidgey.

Pidgey's eyes seemed to gain focus all of a sudden, before they locked on to Ash with unnerving speed, perhaps an indication of its Keen Eye ability, glinting slightly as though daring him to say more. Ash simply stared back, unperturbed, eye unblinking. A few moments later Pidgey ruffled its feathers slightly, looking away from Ash's gaze and cocking its head down slightly.

Efi stared at this interaction with rapt attention, before inquiring as to what had just transpired in that moment. _"Uh, Ash, what just happened?"_

"_Some Pokémon will stare you down. It's a natural thing for many of them to assess your worth, as it were. Particularly some Dragon-types. Of course, it's surprising for it to be a Pidgey of all things, but I know I've earned his respect."_ Ash explained smoothly.

"_Oh."_ Efi replied.

"_If I hadn't, he would have perhaps refused to listen to me. It's why some trainers struggle with Pokémon, particularly powerful ones."_ Ash concluded for her.

"So!" Ash piped up for a moment, gaining Pidgey's attention again. "I've never actually seen a Pidgey look quite like you before. I wonder…" Ash began before fading off deep into thought, causing Efi to talk to Pidgey in Pokéspeech for a little while, no doubt explaining his new trainer's eccentricities.

"Ahh. I think I might know why." Ash suddenly input, causing Efi and Pidgey to jump slightly at the unexpected interruption. "I mean, I've seen that some Pidgey are different to the norm, but those are what people call shiny Pokémon, not that they glitter and sparkle, mind you."

"But I think it's more a case of family resemblance here. Usually, the mother will pass on all the species characteristics without exception, which means it should be impossible for a Pidgey to gain the black feathers of a Honchkrow, but in rare cases, several generations of a Pokémon may breed with a certain other type. I'm pretty sure that your mother had a Honchkrow parent, and perhaps others further down the line also do." Ash explained. "Perhaps the Honchkrow genes run in your family much stronger than some would expect, leading to the visible change I can see."

"You're bigger than normal Pidgey, but that's a normal variation, considering Honchkrow aren't that large either." Ash continued. "But I'm sure you have more propensity towards the dark, or low light. I would imagine you have sharper all around vision than most too, considering Honchkrow have good sight in darkness."

"We'll just have to see how you grow, eh Pidgey?" Ash queried suddenly, causing Pidgey to nod slowly, as if slightly bewildered by his new trainer's assessment all of a sudden.

Efi only blinked for a moment, before turning to talk to Pidgey, obviously well versed in how Ash acted sometimes. If only he hadn't picked up that habit from Oak, she had often lamented.

"_So how is he?"_ Ash asked Efi after a lull in conversation became apparent, while he was preparing lunch. Popping off the lid to a pack of generic Pokémon food, he paused as she replied.

"_He's alright. Friendlier than I had expected, though that may be because I beat him up?"_ Efi returned slightly questioningly.

"Should probably warn him to never insult your looks." Ash murmured to himself, which was unfortunately caught by Efi.

"_What!?"_ Efi blared in his head.

Ignoring Efi's slight outrage for the moment, he turned to Pidgey. "By the way bud, I should warn you that if you insult Efi's looks, even as a joke, be prepared to lose all your feathers, rather painfully, amongst other things." Ash shivered as he remembered the last time he had made such a joke, inadvertently causing Pidgey to blanch as well, before looking at Efi warily.

"_Did you have to do that?"_ Efi grumbled at him.

"_Unfortunately yes. I'd rather no Pokémon makes that particularly horrifying mistake."_ He replied soothingly, while inwardly hoping she didn't think he was just warning Pidgey about her, rather than warning him about insulting Efi, as if to play her protector.

Thankfully, she bought it this time. _"How nice! I'm glad you won't let anyone insult me… but I'd prefer to do the warnings myself."_

"_Oh! Not necessary! It's my job, see!"_ Ash replied slightly nervously, before fumbling with the prepared food for a moment, before catching it. "Ehe! Butterfingers!" he chuckled apprehensively.

Efi narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before shaking her head slightly, as he placed the food in front of both her and Pidgey. Needless to say, the meal was enjoyed, if it wasn't for Ash's unnerving staring at Pidgey, while said Pidgey was determinedly attempting to ignore the gaze. As they finished the meal, Ash shook his head slightly, as if to get rid of errant thoughts, collecting the simple plastic bowls, cleaning them with water from the nearby river.

In the meantime, Efi was once again engaging the poor Pidgey in another conversation, though even she was at a loss to explain what said stare was about.

In fact, Ash was actually planning what to do with Pidgey, depending on what kind of Pokémon he was. He had already judged it to be an obvious loner, because it could simply join the local community of birds, though it was also possible he had been turfed out, so to speak, merely because of his differences. Nevertheless, he had obviously thrived, being far hardier and well developed than any other Pidgey Ash had come across. He clearly had a strong decisive personality, if his short answers to Efi's rapid chatter were any indication, and clearly had experience in battle.

Coming to a decision as he put away the rest of the equipment, he turned back to Efi and Pidgey, attracting their attention. "Say Pidgey, I'm wondering what you're looking for out of a trainer." He began vaguely, before clarifying. "I know you've been on your own for a while, but I'm just trying to figure out what you're looking for in life. If you have a goal in mind, or just to be free to do what you wish, for example."

Pidgey seemed to look at Ash in slight surprise at being asked what it wished to do, but took it in his stride, as he replied firmly in a series of cheeps, punctuated with some sort of charades, which were obviously some reference to strength, if puffing out his chest and beating it with his wing were any sign of such a thing.

Obviously, as Efi was available as a translator, Ash did not have to think too deeply into what Pidgey was trying to impart to him.

"_He says he wants to be strong. As he was beaten so easily, he knows you can make him stronger than he is now."_ Efi related to Ash. _"He can't get stronger alone, although he had wanted to. He believes a strong trainer would be the perfect way of becoming better."_

"_And what do you think Efi?" _Ash returned. _"Will he suit us?"_

She replied without hesitance. _"Aren't you really asking if you suit him?"_ She cocked her head to the side slightly as she looked him in the eye.

"_In any case, I consider you perfect for any Pokémon we come across. You always do your best for me, so you'll do your best for him, and any other who joins us."_ Efi continued, preventing Ash from answering her original question. _"So, yes."_

"Wanna be strong Pidgey?" Ash murmured lightly, raising an eyebrow at the patient Pokémon as it looked at him unerringly. "At what cost?" he added, as only his ears heard it. Seeing the obviously affirmative cheep from Pidgey, he smiled slightly leaving his more morbid thoughts on the wayside.

"Well, no time like the present!" he chuckled slightly darkly, causing Pidgey to slightly regret his decision, not for the first time since he had been let out of his Pokéball.

* * *

**/**

"Keep it up there bud!" Ash called out to the Pidgey flying overhead, the slight panting the only indication that he was getting tired.

Having finally set off from the midday lunch campsite, the sun was now on a steady setting course, getting closer to sunset with each passing minute. Ash knew that they were making good time, and would reach Viridian just before it did, giving him time to get a room at the Pokémon Center, amongst other things.

In the meantime, he had decided to work on Pidgey's training immediately, as he knew that the more time he spent finding his current limits, the better he would know how to use his little friend in battle. It was this stage, where building a rapport between Trainer and Pokémon began. It wasn't a good idea to use a new Pokémon in battle, especially if they hadn't gotten used to their trainer yet. It was decisions like those that caused new Trainers to end up getting their Pokémon hurt without good reason.

As for training, Ash had decided to find out just how long Pidgey could keep going before he had no more energy left to give. He had thought it a good idea, as he needed to be able to recognise just how far he could push him, before it was obvious that he needed to be recalled. In order to quickly assess this, he had Efi slowly increase the resistance on Pidgey's flight, using a low powered confusion to begin with, subtly increasing the weight of his wings. However, he didn't recall the poor guy when it was obvious he was now just flying on willpower alone.

"Cut it Efi." Ash murmured.

As Efi released a slightly breathless sigh, her crimson gem dulling, all the pressure on Pidgey's wings lifted off, suddenly causing him a lot of shock, as he literally rocketed away, wings flapping madly as he tried to regain his pace. It was expected, as removing a lot of force would mean that the strength Pidgey was applying to his wing beats no longer had any resistance other than the air, meaning that he accelerated sharply. Cheeping angrily at Ash once he had recovered his momentum, Ash grinned faintly. He was still going. If he could get work Pidgey to exhaustion once in a while, things would become naturally easier. Even his basic moves would have a lot more oomph behind them, when encouraging his wings to develop a lot more power in their flaps. It would also be useful for a certain move he wished him to learn. Though Ash knew that doing such a thing too often could cause harm too. He'd make sure to be careful not to overwork the guy.

Holding out an arm, he gave a sharp whistle, indicating to Pidgey to come down and take a break. Dropping into a dive, the Pidgey accelerated sharply, before stretching his wings wide as a brake, before landing smoothly on Ash's arm, panting heavily as exhaustion finally caught up with him.

"That… was very well done Pidgey." Ash said after a moment of looking at him thoughtfully. "You've earned a break now." He added, calling Pidgey back with a short beam of red light from its Pokéball. "It'll be tough, but you can handle it." He murmured to the Pokéball containing Pidgey, before clipping it back onto his belt, not once stopping his stride.

"_You seem to be getting into the mood already."_ Efi pointed out slyly. _"I was wondering how long it would take before you started doing your thing."_

"_My thing?"_ Ash frowned slightly, glancing at the curled up Sun Pokémon in his bag. _"I have a thing?"_

"_Yep!"_ Efi replied cheerfully. _"You just can't help but figure out how to use every Pokémon in battle. Soooo…. How'd you think he'll do?"_

"_Huh."_ Ash blinked slightly. _"Didn't realise it seemed that way. I only wanted to make him better than he was before. Stronger. That's what he wanted."_

"_So he did." _Efi replied nonchalantly. _"You notice how he didn't complain about anything, until you decided to end the training? Well, ending it slightly abruptly did annoy him."_

"_Ah. I hadn't actually."_ Ash stopped walking for a moment. _"So why didn't he complain? I know that I worked him beyond his limits at the moment."_

"_Because he knows that you know what you're doing."_ Efi replied. _"He already trusts you to make him stronger."_

"_He'll put everything he has into this, because he wants to be stronger."_ Efi ended.

"_I hope that's not the only thing that he wants. There'll be a limit somewhere."_ Ash replied smoothly.

"_Then he simply chooses to either accept it, or do something new."_ Efi replied glibly. _"Nothing else to it."_

"_So simple huh?"_ Ash murmured, before continuing to walk. _"Anyway, still got to work more with Pidgey. But I don't think I'll ever know him as well as you."_

"_Something tells me you will."_ Efi seemed to shrug. _"Besides, I know you're already thinking of moves to teach him, and how best to work with him."_

"_Isn't that something every trainer should do?"_ Ash responded vaguely. _"Not really doing anything special here."_

"_Ash, don't be purposely stupid."_ Efi grumbled. _"You're already trying to understand him. How best to work with him, and how to help him fulfil his desire."_

"_You're already adding him to our little family."_ Efi added smugly. _"Not every trainer tries so hard for their Pokémon, often expecting it to be the other way around."_

"_Isn't that a shame Ash?"_ Efi queried him curiously.

"_I suppose."_ Ash responded hesitantly. _"I don't really know how to explain what I think Trainers and their Pokémon should be like. I like to think I'm doing the right thing."_

"_Trust me, you are." _Efi responded enthusiastically. _"No matter what happens, you're going to be a great trainer. I know so."_ She added, cocking one eye open to look at Ash this time, gleaming with a slightly mischievous spark.

"_Don't start that Future Sight shtick Efi."_ Ash sighed. _"I don't believe in that sort of fortune telling."_

"_Mhm, whatever you say Ash."_ She responded nonchalantly.

Resisting the urge to facepalm for the moment, Ash simply shook his head slightly and carried on walking. He was pretty certain Efi was just playing up the whole Future Sight thing and instead saying that she believed he would be a good trainer, if he wasn't already. Ash didn't really consider himself a trainer in all honesty. Sure, he had Pokémon and he trained them, but he felt he was missing the passion and drive to be the best, which he believed every trainer needed. He couldn't put any words towards explaining what exactly he was. Maybe a drifter?

While he was thinking, some droplets of rain began falling from the slowly greying clouds. This caused him to look up for a moment at the overcast sky. His thoughts of getting to Viridian or taking some shelter to wait out the rain however, were quickly abandoned, as an earth-shaking roar sounded in the nearby area, followed by an ear-piercing scream.

* * *

**/**

Misty Waterflower was at this moment experiencing what people often referred to as 'your life flashing before your eyes' as she stared uncomprehendingly at the mighty Gyarados in front of her, eye's glaring at her in anger, droplets of water dripping off its body in what seemed like slow motion to her suddenly heightened perception of passing time.

She was only fishing for water Pokémon. She had been fishing for years, but fate seemed to have dealt her a bad hand today, in the form of that monstrous creature that even she, a self-professed water Pokémon lover, feared. She hadn't always though. It was only at one point where she had ended up in a Gyarados mouth as a child, that she gained this fear. It wasn't an irrational one either, even if said Gyarados was unusually friendly for the species, it still looked like an apex predator of the sea. Its primal roar could evoke stirrings of fear in the heart of even the sturdiest individuals and Pokémon.

And the Hyper Beam it was now charging? That was only a small glimpse of the destructive capabilities they had. At this one moment, she could only watch in silence at the glowing orb of crackling white hot raw power formed in its gaping maw. Breathtaking, she thought with a sigh, before shutting her viridian eyes, and all thoughts fled from her mind.

"Knock it away!" a voice rang out a little way away, causing Misty to open her eyes for a sudden moment, as a lilac blur crashed directly into the side of Gyarados's face, but failing to stop the Hyper Beam from being released in a deafening roar. The beam crashed into the ground just a short way to Misty's side, tearing up the ground and smashing through several trees as Gyarados toppled over with a mighty splash. A moment later, the lilac Pokémon stood in front of her prone form with a blur of speed, staring at the increasingly angry Gyarados, cool and collected, and causing Misty's rapidly beating heart to slow, just that bit more.

"Swift." the voice called out smoothly, causing Efi to twist her head, as a series of golden stars materialised in the area in front of her. A single moment later, she thrust her head forwards slightly, causing the stars to fly straight at the downed form of the Gyarados. "Confusion." was the instant follow-up command, as Efi's eyes glowed blue, and her gem sparkled, causing the stars to erupt into glowing blue light and scream towards her foe like deadly bullets. Each star hit their mark with a sound like glass shattering, and explosions of force marked the deceptive power they held behind them.

Gyarados could only let out a pained roar as it held its head high once more in defiance, before the voice rang out again, with finality in its tone. "Quick Attack into Iron Tail." Without hesitation, Efi sprang off in a blurring white-lilac light, forked tail sheening silver trails behind her, as she barrelled into Gyarados's weaker underside, where the throat would normally be located on a human, sweeping her tail around like a whip crack, smashing its throat with devastating blunt force further enhanced by the speed boost of Quick Attack.

That was enough to cause Gyarados to whimper in strangled pain as its head snapped back and its eyes snapped shut, before it fled with a wail, head diving below the water, and a wave washed up over the riverbank as it sped away, powerful tail propelling it through the water.

A small sigh of relief cut through the chaotic silence that was left behind. "That was close." The lilac Pokémon had joined a figure standing on the small cliff above the waterfall, leading down into the small valley that Misty had set up in. Misty couldn't bring herself to say anything at the moment, and it seemed that the figure, who had sounded like a boy to her, understood, by the simple shrug he made, before he hoisted himself down the small cliffside, dropping the last metre to land on his feet smoothly.

"So." He said, as he turned around to see her himself. Misty was surprised to note the eye patch which seemed to be for actual necessary use, rather than a fashion statement, though how it could be a fashion statement, only her sisters could know. Ignoring her wandering thoughts for a moment, she refocused her attention on the slightly taller guy in front of her, noting his seeming lack of reaction to her daze. Perhaps he expected it.

"So, are you alright?" Ash spoke to her gently. "I mean, that must have been scary."

"I'd say so." Misty mumbled as she cast her mind back to that fleeting moment of acceptance she had felt when the Hyper Beam was about to fire at her. "Thank you by the way." She added, suddenly remembering what he had done.

"Ah thank Efi. She's the one who dealt with it." He shrugged lightly, seemingly uninterested in her thanks. Efi gave a prideful nod at his words, looking at her beseechingly.

Misty could only seem to chuckle nervously at her look, before she gave in. "Thank you… Efi was it? I owe you one." Efi seemed to give a purr of acceptance in response, before she hopped up into the boy's shoulder bag, curling inside it with a slight yawn.

"Name's Ash by the way." He added after an awkward moment where they both stared at Efi's actions. "You?"

"Uh… Misty." She replied awkwardly, picking up her abandoned fishing rod with slightly trembling hands. "Thanks again and all."

"Don't mention it." Ash shook his head slightly. "Doesn't matter."

Something about his attitude seemed to get under the orange haired girl's skin though, as she stiffened for a moment. "Doesn't matter?" she asked, deceptively softly. "Gee, thanks for giving a damn." She added in slight anger.

"Uh?" he replied confused for a moment, scratching his head with a hand as he tried to understand where the sudden anger had come from.

"I'm sure you can go back to your little happy life, and quit giving a damn, because it's obvious really, you're just trying to play yourself up as the quiet hero who asks for no thanks, aren't you? _Boys._" She snarled slightly, causing Ash to blink and back up for a moment.

"Here I am, a pretty, helpless damsel in distress, and you just couldn't help yourself could you!?" she continued ranting randomly. "I could have handled this myself!"

"Now-" Ash started before her tirade suddenly gathered in power and ferocity.

"Look what you did to my bike!" she scowled at the shattered pieces of warped metal where the Hyper Beam had originally hit. "You're paying for that!"

"Don't even think of getting out of this one." She added, glaring at him for a moment. "If it weren't for your Espeon, my bike would be perfectly fine!" she ended, ignoring the fact that she was only a whisker away from personally being vaporised. At her words, even Efi exchanged a glance with Ash, that seemed to say _"Did she really just say that?"_, and _"Yes she did."_, all in one moment.

"So, how will you pay me back?" she added, glaring up into his bewildered face. Ash could only look at her in complete shock, being unable to find any words to say. Eventually, as her face seemed to grow even angrier, he steeled himself and picked out the words.

"I'm not." He stated flatly.

Before she could yell at him, which he was now certain she was about to, by the way her hands clenched, and her teeth ground together, he forcefully continued, this time brooking no argument, made clear by the way his eye fixed her with a powerful stare.

"For one, I didn't destroy your bike." he held up one finger to accentuate his point. "Two, I saved your life in exchange for said bike." He continued holding up a second finger this time.

"Three. I just don't want to." He ended with a thunderously soft voice, as though he had barked it into her ear with ringing force, yet as soft-spoken and quietly as the gentlest soul.

"Is that clear?" he added after a moment of stunned silence, drawing a slightly startled nod of agreement from Misty. It seemed that she wasn't used to being refused in such a manner, and as such, couldn't really respond to his painfully true points.

"C-Clear." She stuttered for a moment, looking at what seemed to be a boy made of stone in front of her. He didn't even raise his voice at her, calmly stating a few things as to why he wouldn't agree with her assessment of things. It didn't help that the eye patch and the scar that was only partly hidden, seemed to make him seem far more imposing than her original impression of a fairly laidback and relaxed person hinted.

"Now, I will escort you to Viridian City. After a shock such as that, you need a nice calm and relaxing room for the night." He added flatly, picking up her backpack for her, before holding it out, and having Misty snatch it from his grasp slightly nervously.

"Shall we?" he added, before walking off, leaving Misty to splutter wordlessly before she hurried to catch up with him.

"Hey wait up idiot!"

* * *

**/**

"Misty Waterflower…" Ash seemed to taste the name on his tongue, testing how it flowed. This seemed to be an odd reaction, Misty thought, though his sleepy Espeon hadn't batted an eye at it. Perhaps this was normal for him?

"Yeah." She affirmed instead, after a moment. "It's my name, not food." She added, cringing slightly at her own words, and causing Ash to blink.

"I mean, I don't keep calling you Ash Ketchum do I?" she added at his odd look.

"I suppose not." He shrugged after a moment. "Sorry." He added in reflex.

"Ehe, no problem Ketchum." She chuckled slightly nervously at the increasing oddity of the conversation.

Ash simply nodded, as he continued walking with Misty at his side, Efi curled up in his bag, silently having a conversation with him.

Or at least a one-sided whinge.

"_I don't like her Ash."_ She seemed to scowl in his head. _"Why did you have to get her walking with us?"_

"_Ash, I'm ever so tempted to finish that job Gyarados started."_

"_Does she ever stop trying to talk to you?"_

"_For god's sake carrot-head, he doesn't care about what you have to say!"_

"_Please, for my sake, shut her up!"_

And various other complaints and whinging were studiously ignored by Ash, who simply responded, _"Deal with it."_

Ash could only grumble in his own head about two sources of annoyance, both now as irritating as each other. Instead of showing this, he decided to learn about his temporary companion. He had recognised the Waterflower name as being from Cerulean City, more specifically the gym, which specialised in Water-types, ironically. Though Ash was certain that Misty wasn't the gym leader, because he thought she was too young. Though, she might be a good trainer, and if she hadn't frozen up against Gyarados, he would have seen what she was actually capable of.

"So… fishing for Pokémon?" he queried randomly, interrupting Misty's half-hearted attempts to get him to reciprocate a conversation, and in fact completely ignoring what she had been saying. Though to be fair, he hadn't exactly been able to separate her chatter from Efi's whining, which might actually have highlighted some similarities between them, but he vowed never to go there if he valued his existence.

"Wha- uh yeah I was." Misty responded after a brief fumble. "Why?"

"Just wondering whether you were interested in water Pokémon." He shrugged, only to regret asking as she completely turned personalities on a head.

"I love water Pokémon! They're amazing, dreamy, the best Pokémon you can ever be friends with! Nothing comes close to the dazzling beauty, the cuteness and coolness of a water-type!" she passionately proclaimed, her eyes seemingly becoming love-hearts.

"That's a yes." Ash murmured lowly to himself. "Oh good." He replied out loud for Misty to hear.

"You're a trainer right?" Ash asked a moment later.

"Yeah, of course I am!" Misty replied, cocking her head at his question.

"What are you a trainer for?" Ash queried seriously this time, giving Misty the impression he was actually interested, and not just making small talk.

"Uh, well…" Misty began nervously before trailing off, hand pulling at her short denim pants slightly.

"You have a dream right?" Ash interrupted knowingly. "To be something?"

"Yeah." Misty replied seriously after a moment's thought. "I want to be a water Pokémon master."

"_Ash don't you-"_ Efi began seriously, before Ash ignored her by replying anyway.

"What does that even mean?" he pointed out instead. "What does being a master mean to you?" he clarified, as Misty frowned.

"I want to be the best trainer of Water-types out there." She answered vaguely, confused as to his point. "It proves I'm the best."

_To who?_ Harry thought shrewdly, but instead allowed Efi to claw him back onto safer ground. "Well good luck Misty. It'll be hard work though."

"I know." Misty replied seriously. "It wouldn't mean anything otherwise." She added, causing Ash to frown subtly.

"We'll be there soon." Ash pointed out after a small period of silence.

"Yeah…" Misty replied slowly. "So… why are you a trainer?" she asked after a moment.

"I'm not a trainer." Ash responded with surety, causing Misty to blink, viridian eyes narrowing slightly.

"You train Pokémon right?" Misty asked him slowly. "That means you're a trainer. But fine, don't answer my question jerk." She added scathingly.

"Don't trainers want to be the best?" Ash responded, ignoring her tone.

"That has nothing to do with being a trainer!" Misty exclaimed, while Efi nodded her agreement. "You just have to have Pokémon to be a trainer."

"See, Efi agrees that you're a trainer." Misty added to Ash. "Don't you have other Pokémon too?"

"I have a Pidgey." He replied smoothly. At Misty's surprise, he added, "I started travelling today."

At this, Misty blurted out. "But you seem so experienced!"

Ash simply shrugged. "Depends what you mean by experienced?"

"You took out that Gyarados like it was nothing!" she retorted. "You can't have only started today!" she added with a slight tone of jealousy amidst her proclamation.

"That Gyarados was only a baby." Ash replied simply. "A more experienced one wouldn't have reacted in such a way."

"Besides, me and Efi have been together for years." He added at Misty's look of utter blankness. "I know she's capable of beating a Gyarados like that."

"Heck…" he added after musing for a few clock ticks, "I think even my Pidgey could have beaten that Gyarados."

"No way in hell Ketchum!" Misty suddenly fired out. Espeon was one thing, but a Pidgey? No way jose, she wasn't buying it!

"Not head on." He replied simply. "That would be stupid." He added, making Misty feel like an idiot with his matter-of-fact tone.

"I know my Pidgey is faster than that Gyarados." He continued. "Sure, he might not have enough oomph to cause a lot of damage, but he would run rings around it, so either Gyarados eventually leaves or gets worn down by getting hit."

"And you say you're not a trainer." She muttered vehemently in response, before angrily stalking away, leaving a confused Ash behind for a short moment.

"_What did I say?"_ he asked Efi curiously.

"_Don't be stupid."_ Was the aggravating response.

* * *

**AN 27.08.2014**

**Took a while to write out everything, but here it is. So Ash catches a Pidgey – and I give a small explanation on the possible variations in Pokémon, as well as a case for slightly different looking ones of the same species, aside from natural variation. That said, every Pokémon won't be super special or anything, but I just like Pidgeot and wanted to make 'him' in this fic, at least something different to the average one, when he evolves. Misty is standard, same age as Ash and more grown up than in anime, so she's more world wise, but still seeing the world through rose tinted glasses, and she can still switch personalities rather easily. I always liked the Bike excuse, so there's a slight variation this time. I also intend to further showcase how Ash's mind works in battle and otherwise, while Misty will be similar but not entirely the same as she was in anime. **

**Next time, Viridian City and Team Rocket – and not the trio of bumbling fools they were in the anime – they'll be a bit more competent at least and aren't just 'Pikachu hunters' or Efi hunters in this case. Also, Ash and Misty will have more interaction, and Ash bumps into an old… friend… in a manner of speaking, as well as catching a new Pokémon in Viridian forest, word count permitting. I'll aim between 7-10k a chapter for consistency, but I tend to end it where it falls naturally.**

**I intend to make sure that the moves Pokémon learn are the only ones they can actually learn in the game, through breeding and otherwise. As for Ash's battling style, you'll understand it after a few bites of the apple so to speak. The only thing you saw here was him not allowing any resistance, hitting hard and fast to keep them down. Well, it was a Gyarados, you don't let it up to wreak havoc.**

**I'm sure I'll eventually hit a good way to describe battles and moves, it's not completely satisfying yet, but it was simply wild Pokémon scraps.**

**Til next time!**


	3. Mack and Sally

**Mack and Sally**

* * *

Ash and Misty had been walking for just over an hour now, and the sun was now starting to dip below the far horizon in a burning shade of orange, turning the sky a strange hue of pink for a few moments as the light faded. They had just arrived within walking distance of Viridian City's outskirts, and could see the large Pokémon Center situated right in the middle of the city.

"Well, made it with a little time to spare." Ash pointed out with a slight nod towards the view he could see. "Just need to go check in at the Pokémon Center." He added.

Misty could only scowl slightly at him in annoyance, having found him almost increasingly frustrating with every passing minute. It wasn't as if she was asking him difficult questions. It was only small talk, yet he rarely answered to her satisfaction. In fact, aside from the time he prompted her to talk about the best Pokémon type, the water-type, he seemed content to ignore her. Ignore her!

Sure, she could understand that he seemed to be a naturally quiet guy, but he was definitely not shy, Misty having been on the receiving end of his irritation. So what was the deal with Ash? And for that matter, how the hell did he end up with an Espeon? Last time Misty checked, they had only been discovered about five years ago, and he seemed to imply they had been together for a long time. Longer than five years, judging by his tone.

"You coming?" he called out to her, causing Misty to be slightly startled, having realised she hadn't been paying attention, and Ash had already started walking again, leaving her behind a little ways.

"Yep." She replied, hiding her irritation at him once more, instead pushing it away, wanting nothing more but to hit the hay, and sleep away her worries, at least until the morning. At least he was right about needing a relaxing night, and in a soft bed too.

Catching up with him after a moment, they continued on to the city, reaching an outpost on the outskirts.

"Halt!" a sharp voice commanded loudly as they passed by a parked motorcycle with sidecar, next to the outpost building. The exclamation caused Misty to jump slightly, wheeling around quickly to see who it was, while Ash and Efi simply mirrored each other by turning their head to the left as he stopped.

A stern faced woman dressed in a blue police officer's uniform with matching cap was eyeing them carefully, before she blinked all of a sudden in faint recognition. "Oh, Ash Ketchum right?" she asked, pointing at him slightly.

"Yes Officer Jenny." Ash replied simply with a small nod as additional confirmation.

"And who are you?" she suddenly narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the orange haired girl next to him. "A thief perhaps?" she added accusingly, causing Misty to exclaim in indignation at the turquoise haired woman.

"I am not!"

"Can you prove it young lady?" she fired back mercilessly, making Misty squirm slightly as she wasn't sure she wanted to clue Ash into who she was already. It was bad enough she had to be rescued, let alone someone of her status in Kanto.

"She's Misty Waterflower." Ash intervened smoothly, as he came to stand next to her. "Ran into her while she was fishing a few hours back."

"Oh!" Jenny exclaimed slightly embarrassed. "I remember now! Uhehe!" she chuckled slightly nervously while wringing her hands. "I'm awfully sorry to have accused you of such a thing."

"Uhh, that's ok." Misty replied, slightly unnerved by Jenny's sudden turnaround of personality. Though Ash hadn't batted an eye at it.

"I can only be careful. There are Pokémon thieves around this area, and Viridian is on high alert!" she suddenly spoke firmly, now looking every bit the police officer she was meant to be. "By the way Ash, you really shouldn't have your Pokémon outside their Pokéball. Not with the situation as it is!"

At Efi's firm command in his head not to put her back in her ball, he replied smoothly. "We can handle ourselves officer."

"Hmm, I suppose you can." She replied thoughtfully. "Especially after your efforts a few years back, I seem to remember it was three years ago right?"

"I didn't do much." Ash shrugged uncaringly. "Probably just being there scared them off."

"Even still, you prevented criminals getting away with a lot of Pokémon!" Jenny exclaimed. "By the way, have you remembered anything more?" she looked at him sharply, perhaps hoping to scare an answer out of him. Sadly, this failed.

"No." he replied flatly, seemingly bored with the conversation, causing Jenny to droop in disappointment.

"Damn, I was hoping for a big break there." She grumbled. "Well, back to work it is!" she barked with a glint in her eye. "We'll find that perpetrator eventually!"

"On your way now, I can't just let you loiter around after dark here, we have a curfew today!" she smiled grimly. "You know your way to the Pokémon center Miss Waterflower?"

At Misty's nod, she returned one of her own. "Good. You and Ash make your way there now you hear me? I wouldn't want to have to arrest you for breaking our curfew now, but don't let yourself think I wouldn't uphold the law!"

"Of course officer." Ash replied smoothly, before subtly herding Misty towards the center himself, while she tried to catch up in her head with the events.

* * *

**/**

"What efforts?" Misty looked at Ash curiously, having picked up that Jenny seemed to think Ash had foiled some kind of thieving attempt.

"Just scared off some thief who tried to steal from Oak's Ranch." Ash shrugged nonchalantly as he continued walking.

"That big debacle a few years ago? That was you?" Misty asked him slightly stunned. "It was all over the news! Especially a place like Professor Oak's ranch."

Ash scowled slightly at her reaction. "It wasn't anything big at all, the media just blew it all out of proportion." _And the sly old coot milked the media circus for all it was worth._ He remarked wryly in his head, causing an agreement to sound out from Efi.

"They never named who was involved though." Misty frowned curiously.

"Because it was kept a closely guarded secret." Ash sighed frustrated. "Can you imagine what could have happened if said thief was part of Team Rocket or something?"

"Uh?" Misty looked at him confused before it dawned on her with his continued stare of disbelief. "Oh. Oh!" she exclaimed. "Then they'd be after you for getting in their way." She shivered slightly. "Yeah, I see why now."

"Good." Ash remarked smoothly, hiding his annoyance at having to practically spell it out.

"Still, I can see why you kept your head in front of that Gyarados." Misty shivered slightly, remembering that ear-splitting roar of fury.

Ash raised an eyebrow in surprise at her comment, not having thought of it that way before. "I suppose. I'm a calm person by nature now anyway. Could be part of the reason I don't lose my nerve easily."

"I can imagine!" Misty pointed out. "I'd think it was just like a battle, with higher stakes on the line. That would just get me even more determined." She pumped a fist for emphasis.

"Or scared out of your wits." Ash couldn't help commenting, completely deadpan.

"T-That was just a one off!" Misty shouted back angrily with a growl in her throat. "I. Don't. Like. Gyarados!"

"Fair enough." Ash nodded at her slightly menacing look, as she tried to stare him down. He just didn't want the hassle of another tirade from the fiery tempered girl, so it was better to bend sometimes, even if he had remained firm on the bike issue.

"We're here." Ash remarked a moment later, as they reached the white stone steps leading up to the Pokémon center. This caused Misty to snap out of her slightly irritated state as she sighed in relief.

"Finally! I could do with a good night's rest."

"Mhm." Ash responded simply as they stepped in past the automatic doors, heading up towards the counter, where a slightly sleepy pink haired woman was sat, attention drifting, dressed up as a Nurse.

"Evening Nurse Joy." Ash spoke softly, causing her to jerk in her chair slightly.

"Whu?" she spoke confused for a moment before she realised someone had spoken to her. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed apologetically. "It's just I've had ever such a busy day!" she smiled sweetly.

She looked at Ash curiously for a moment, before it seemed like a light bulb went off in her mind. "Ash Ketchum isn't it?" she asked curiously. Not waiting for an answer though, she continued on smoothly. "It's great to see you again dear! How may I help you?"

"I was looking for a room for the night, and for you to take a look at my Pokémon." Ash replied with a small smile, as he pulled out Pidgey's Pokéball for her to take.

Nurse Joy simply collected the ball with a smile on her face before turning to Misty. "You as well Misty?" she asked politely.

"Yes Nurse Joy." She replied sweetly, holding out three Pokéballs for Joy to retrieve, before she passed a room key to the both of them. "Of course! Your Pokémon will be available in the morning, and your rooms are upstairs on the left! Have a nice night!"

"Night." Ash replied smoothly, holding a hand up in thanks as he walked off, quickly followed by Misty's hurried thanks, before she jogged off after him.

* * *

**/**

"Are the preparations complete?"

"Everything is set up boss!" the reply came swiftly and affirmatively.

"Good. Do not get yourself caught. Make sure to make your mark though. It is necessary. Eliminate any opposition and make your retreat from the police force look believable."

"Understood!"

* * *

**/**

*BOOM!*

A loud explosion startled Ash out of his sleep as he jumped to his feet, brain trying to catch up with him slightly. "Whazzit!?" he exclaimed uncharacteristically confused as Efi grumbled in annoyance to him.

'_Something exploded.'_ She remarked dryly.

'_I heard that!'_ Ash retorted in irritation. _'I was asking what it was.'_

'_And I should know… how?'_ Efi scowled minutely at him, causing him to groan.

'_I knew that future sight stuff was utter rubbish.'_ He remarked as he grabbed her Pokéball.

'_I don't do things like that on command!'_ she snapped back. _'Let's just go check it out, then let me get my beauty sleep!'_

"Bloody explosions." Ash grunted irritably. He hated being woken up early… Arceus forbid if it was any time before 8 AM! "It's not even three in the morning!" he moaned in disbelief as he eyed the room's clock. "Someone's gonna pay for this, I don't care who it is, but they will pay!"

'_I completely agree!'_ Efi growled slightly, as they slipped out the room. He didn't notice Misty though, putting it down to sheer exhaustion. She could probably sleep through the end of the world right now, with nary a care.

"Hush now." A deep voice seemed to carry up the stairs that Ash had gotten partway down. "Simply hand over all the Pokémon you have here, and there will be no trouble. Team Rocket don't like trouble."

Ash stealthily got himself within viewing distance of the commotion, only to be met with the scene of Nurse Joy bound up in the vines of a Tangela, obviously one of the infiltrator's Pokémon. The black uniform and cap hiding the eyes slightly were a dead ringer for a Team Rocket member though, and this one seemed far more competent than most. Probably higher up in the hierarchy with actual skills and abilities suited for purpose. Ash scowled darkly at the scene as Tangela increased its vines pressure on Nurse Joy at its trainer's urging.

"Don't make this hard on yourself now." He remarked casually, as though talking about the weather. "I have no qualms about leaving you as a lesson to those who get in our way." He added causing Nurse Joy to blanch in fear from what Ash could see.

'_Get in close and use Flash.'_ Ash remarked coolly, body tensed in slight worry for the Nurse. He'd easily understood the Rocket's intentions, and wanted to get her away from trouble while the police responded to the explosion, which he had set off for some reason. For her part, Efi simply responded silently, exploding away from Ash with a blinding burst of speed before stopping dead in between the Rocket and his Pokémon. The man barely had time to open his mouth as his eyes widened slightly before the world exploded into white, causing him to howl in agony, but still retaining enough of his mind to release two pokéballs before gasping out. "Stop them!"

Tangela meanwhile had released Nurse Joy in reflex as it was blinded, a soft gurgle of pain the only hint otherwise of the effect Flash had on it. Nurse Joy hit the floor slightly roughly, holding her hands over her eyes, unfortunately having been caught in the attack as well. Acceptable cost, Ash had thought in the moment in order to free her and destabilise the Rocket crook.

'_Reflect and Light Screen.'_ Ash added as the Rocket's Pokémon were in the midst of releasing. A soft blue glow, followed by a yellow glow lit up Efi's body for a single moment in time, indicating the moves had been completed.

As the white shapes of the Pokémon faded to reveal a Magnemite, a Pokémon with a gray, spherical metal body with horseshoe magnets on each side and a single, large eye. It had three screws on its body: two near the bottom of its body, and the other on top of its head acting almost like an antenna. Ash's knowledge of Kanto Pokémon informed him that it was an Electric-Steel, dual-type Pokémon, not one that someone would imagine a team Rocket member to have, but he didn't believe in stereotypes, mostly anyway. The second Pokémon was a Grimer, a slimy, amorphous blob-like Pokémon, made of living purple sludge. It had two beady eyes, and a gaping mouth with a grey tongue. It had two arms with three digits as hands on each end. It was a poison-type Pokémon, and a particularly potent one, even more so if it evolved into a Muk.

However, they were obviously well trained, immediately zeroing in on Ash, Magnemite firing off a blue shock of electricity at him, which Efi quickly intercepted with a swift attack, the golden stars bursting into a miniature fireworks show as it connected with the Thunder Wave and cancelling each other out. Grimer meanwhile had thrown a Sludge attack, a dripping gloopy mess of purple sludge being hurled out of its mouth towards the stationary Efi.

'_Knock it to Tangela.'_ Ash ordered smoothly, as Efi's eyes morphed into a slightly glowing blue, catching the glob of sludge in mid-air with Confusion, before it was hurled twice as fast at the recovering Tangela which seemed to screech in pain as the extra effective attack struck it full on, launching it back into a wall and knocking it out with no trouble. It seemed the extra momentum Efi had applied had been enough to put down Tangela.

"Brat!" the Rocket roared as he staggered to his feet, his eyes bloodshot from the blinding flash attack. Instead of ordering his Pokémon to attack, he released two more, obviously intending to make an example of Ash.

Ash simply rolled an eye at him, before he ordered Efi again. "Psybeam on Grimer." He remarked coolly, as Efi's crimson gem flared, before a rippling rainbow coloured beam burst out of it almost like a laser. It was remarkably compressed, obviously packing a lot of power, and ripped into Grimer brutally, slamming it into the unconscious Tangela behind it, leaving it an unconscious puddle of purple sludge. Psychic attacks were extremely effective on poison types, and Ash knew Efi was far more powerful than the Grimer, knocking it out not surprising him in the least, even as the Rocket member stared in shock at the result, obviously surprised that a kid was beating his Pokémon down.

"Double Team." Ash called out as Magnemite released a Thundershock attack of its own accord, this time not aimed at him, and intending to incapacitate his Espeon. The attack hit one of the double team clones dispersing it into thin air with a zap, but about thirty more Espeons had surrounded the Rocket and his Pokémon now.

The Rocket had now released a Marowak, which was a bipedal Pokémon with a spike located on its tail. On its stomach, it was a very light brown in color, as opposed to most of its body, which was a darker brown. Marowak's head resembled a skull, which it seemed to wear as a mask, while it wielded a large bone in one hand. The other Pokémon he had released was a Raticate, a large brown mouse like Pokémon with large incisors, and the evolved form of a Rattata.

"Shock Wave!" the man called out in glee, knowing that Double Team wouldn't allow Ash's Pokémon to dodge. A circular belt of electricity formed around the Magnemite for a moment, before a finger zapped from it, directly towards one of the Espeon littering the field.

"Iron Tail." Ash called quickly, trusting Efi to interpret the rest of the command. Efi simply braced herself for the electric attack, as her tail sheened a metallic silver, and she stabbed it into the ground beneath her.

The Magnemite seemed to look more confused than it did naturally, as the Electricity hit Efi, instantly being redirected through her metallic tail and direct into the ground. As such, it had no effect. "Raticate, Quick Attack! Marowak, Bonemerang!" the man called out quickly, trying to take advantage of the moment, though Ash called out a counter.

"Quick Attack on Marowak." Efi shot off in a lilac blur, tail still sheening silver as she leapt over the incoming Raticate, and straight into the guard of a slightly stunned Marowak who had barely any time to cock back its arm in a preparatory throw. "Legs." Ash added as Efi sprang off. The loud impact of her tail cracking into Marowak's legs rang out into the room, even as it screamed loudly in pain, legs being knocked right out under it, and crashing into the earth roughly.

"Head." Ash added a split second later, as Efi's tail whipped round again, before she flipped over, the broadside of her forked tail smashing straight down onto Marowak's bone mask face, further crushing Marowak's head into the floor with a crunching sound this time.

"Supersonic!" the rocket barked, desperately trying to salvage the situation. He'd heard that there were ways to disrupt Psychics that were better than others, but sound was one of the lesser effective ones when compared to dark-type and bug-type moves. Unfortunately he could only rely on his Raticate to do any major damage but it had no powerful attacks other than Bite that would seriously dent the Sun Pokémon. A weird squealing sound rang out from the Magnemite focused on where Efi was, as she had already zipped away from the fallen Marowak, adding insult to injury as the unconscious Pokémon was hit with another attack, this time from its own ally.

Raticate was still fruitlessly trying to chase the simply faster Efi around with its Quick Attack, clearly highlighting the Rocket's weakness in commanding multiple Pokémon at once. By the time he had realised he'd forgotten to give Raticate any further orders, it was too late as Ash called out a finishing attack.

"Psychic." Ash stated flatly, as Efi's eyes burst into an electric bright blue, a soft glow emanating around her outline, and her crimson gem pulsing powerfully along with it. Raticate was pinned in its tracks, before being held in the air, struggling futilely against the Psychic grip Efi had on it. Ash had no need of further orders as Efi hurled it into the ground heavily, leaving it unconscious in a crater, and the Rocket with just one Magnemite which couldn't even hit Efi with its electrical attacks. The man bared his teeth in fury as he realised his entire mission had been ruined by a kid with just, albeit one very powerful, one Pokémon! The boss would skin him alive!

"Get rid of the metal ball too." Ash called as the Rocket seethed. Efi grabbed the Magnemite with her Psychic attack, though less effective on the steel-type, it still had the same effect when the Magnet Pokémon ended up pulverising the ground with its own body.

"Pin him." Ash added a moment later, causing Efi to catch the Rocket in a lower level psychic attack, Confusion this time, sitting back on her haunches seemingly cool and relaxed.

Checking on the now unconscious Joy and settling into her a chair near the entrance, he had seen the Police approaching in the distance, now drawn by the massive plume of black smoke that had erupted from the top of the building. He turned to the immobilised Rocket, whose eyes promised absolute murder towards him, and portrayed just a slight hint of fear, actually just from thinking about what his Boss would do to him. He knew he wouldn't be safe in police custody, and he didn't even know anything much about the boss either, but he knew he'd still get punished in one way or another.

"So what's your name?" Ash asked him after a moment of thought. The man's jaw clenched as he stubbornly ignored the boy's question. "I can always ask Efi to rip it out of your head." He added, sounding quite ruthless much to the Rocket's surprise. Swallowing nervously for a moment he decided to push his luck with the kid.

"Why'd you want to know brat?"

"Curiosity's sake." Ash replied with a shrug. "You were the first trainer I've ever actually battled." He added, much to the Rocket's chagrin. "I know you're from Rocket or whatever, but it's still an important thing to know I think."

The man pondered his reasoning for a moment, before begrudgingly realising he had no reason to refuse the kid except out of spite, and it seemed rather likely that he'd just use his Psychic type to somehow get it, and that would probably be painful if not damaging to his psyche. It was a shame he didn't know that Espeon weren't physiologically supposed to be able to do such a thing like the psychics of the Abra line could. Sighing slightly in acceptance the man replied.

"Name's Mack. Mack Rivers." He sighed as the kid in front of him raised an eyebrow in surprise. _I hope he wasn't praying I'd refuse?_ He thought with a shudder.

Ash dropped his eyebrows down, looking at Mack blankly. "If you wanted to send a message Mack, I would have left a note saying who did it, and not blow off the roof and giving yourself a time-sensitive problem." Ash commented as he clasped his hands together. "Makes me wonder why you did it the way you did." He added glibly, staring Mack in his grey eyes as he crouched down to his eye-level. "Boss must have a lot of strange plans, but I suppose a completely hitch-free operation would draw too much _heat_, should I say?"

"I think you're fodder." Ash remarked, causing Mack's eyes to widen in shock.

"Fodder?" he asked, not realising he'd said it out loud until the boy answered.

"A means to an end. He threw you off the deep end to attract people's attentions somewhere else. Makes me wonder what your boss actually ended up doing. Or he's prone to making stupid mistakes. Or it was just your poor execution." Ash explained smoothly, leaning back against the wall behind him, hands behind his head.

"Judging from your expression, I'd say your Boss constructed the whole plan, and it was your job to make it work."

"…"

"I doubt the leader of Team Rocket would have made a plan with so many ways to go wrong unless it served a purpose. Wheels within wheels."

"Still… Jenny will be here soon, so I don't have long with you." Ash remarked with a sigh. "Shame, it's pretty interesting talking to someone who is probably the complete antithesis of me."

"Just for courtesy's sake, I'm Ash Ketchum. It was a good battle Mack Rivers, but we won't meet again." He added with a cool finality, causing Mack to pale slightly as he realised what was coming.

'_Rip our conversation out of his head, and knock him out.'_ He instructed Efi, who immediately set to work causing Mack to yell in pain, before leaving a silently unconscious Mack Rivers on the floor no longer holding the memory of their post-battle conversation.

'_Why did you want me to do that anyway?'_ Efi asked Ash curiously. _'All you did was beat him with me and tell him your name.'_

'_I got dangerous information from him.'_ Ash remarked carefully. _'Better if no one knows I ever learnt anything from that. As for the police, who'd have believed a kid's thoughts on the plans of Team Rocket?'_

'_That's it?'_ Efi remarked in confusion.

'_I wouldn't put it past Team Rocket to have Psychics who could retrieve information from him.'_ Ash responded. _'And now they won't know what I've learnt. Better for them to believe this was the only plan we uncovered. Even if I'm not sure what it was, there was definitely something else going on.'_

'_Besides, it'll give the bastard a headache I hope sticks with him for a good long while. Besides, you're an Espeon, and not capable of mental manipulation according the leading Professors. We're home free now, see?'_

'_Your head confuses me sometimes.'_ Efi grouched as her ears drooped wearily. _'I'm just going to get my beauty sleep. Don't wake me up again.'_ She added sharply as she curled up to sleep on Ash's lap, eyes shutting.

"Freeze!"

* * *

**/**

"You know, you're surprisingly capable." Jenny remarked to Ash, who was still in his navy blue pyjamas, having yet to go back to sleep. "Ever thought about joining the police?" she queried him excitedly.

"No, can't say I have." Ash replied with a curious look at Jenny.

"Damn." Jenny swore under her breath. "Well if ever decide it's the kind of work for you, I'll put in a good word!" she exclaimed.

"Thanks again Ash!" Jenny remarked with a smile. "Marie is a good friend of mine, and she told me what that awful thug had threatened to do to her." She added with a scowl. "But do try not to take the law in your own hands next time!" she wagged a finger at him slightly rebuking, though the effect was dulled by the simple fact her eyes looked rather amused.

"I'll try not to get in the way next time." Ash remarked with a small twitch of his lips.

"Good. It's hard keeping your name away from the criminal elements you know?" Jenny responded seriously, causing Ash to straighten slightly in response.

"I do realise that. I'm thankful you did such a good job last time." Ash replied firmly. "I try not to get involved unless there's no one there to help. It would be… wrong, I guess."

"Well of course, someone like you just couldn't stand by and watch." Jenny nodded. "Just be careful. You worried a lot of people last time with the Oak Ranch scare."

"Sure officer." Ash replied simply, causing Jenny to sigh.

"You can just call me Jenny if you like. You act far too much like an adult around me."

"Yes, while that is how I expect people to treat me, I think I can give you a pass. You're a good kid." She interrupted as Ash frowned slightly. "Now go on and call your mother. Delia must have been up all night waiting for you to call by now." Jenny's face softened slightly. "I know you hate worrying her."

"Yeah…" Ash breathed out slowly before shuddering. "Can't I put it off?" he asked almost nervously, causing Jenny to look at him sternly.

"Phone. Now." She remarked sharply.

Ash grumbled slightly but relented. "Alright Jenny, I'll phone my mom. Just remember, I won't forget this either." He added slightly darkly, causing Jenny to pause. She was simply amused by how Ash disliked having to listen to Delia's constant worrying, which would be even worse this time. Oh well, it would count as his little punishment for getting involved. His reward was evident enough as is.

* * *

**/**

"Are you sure you're ok dear?" a worried Delia's face remarked on the video screen to a slightly irritated Ash.

"Absolutely fine mom." He replied with a slightly strained smile.

"As long as you're sure honey! You know, it took your dad four days to get to Viridian when he first set off. I bet you're the apple of his eye!" Delia exclaimed happily.

"I bet…" Ash voiced slightly disbelievingly.

"And that's not mentioning your grandfather, let me tell you…" Delia continued on, having not heard Ash's rejoinder.

"Alright mom!" Ash raised his voice slightly, causing Delia to chuckle in embarrassment.

"Oh dear me, I could go on forever. Awfully sorry dear. Make sure to call Professor Oak, he'll want to know how you're doing. And don't forget to cha-" she continued before Ash cut off the call swiftly, trying to make sure as few people ever heard those words uttered.

"My mom is crazy." He muttered under his breath, though it was slightly fondly. "Oak now." He stated to himself, before dialling in his number.

After a few rings, the call was picked up, revealing a slightly dishevelled Professor Oak, obviously very tired. "What is it at this time of the morning Ash?" he grumbled.

"I'm surprised you're still awake Professor." Ash simply replied, causing Oak to scowl at the non-answer.

"Time runs away with me sometimes, as you full well know, my boy." Oak responded crassly. "Now just what is it?"

"Blame mom. She told me to call you. Besides, haven't you heard the news in Viridian City?" Ash replied, still not answering the question, and causing Oak to feel slightly annoyed.

"No." he replied flatly.

Having decided his bit of fun was over, Ash began to explain. "Well Team Rocket attacked the Pokémon Center here."

"What!?" Oak exclaimed in shock, all tiredness fading away in an instant.

"Yeah." Ash replied. "It was only one guy, but he had Nurse Joy in a pretty awkward spot. I got rid of him though."

"With just Efi?" Oak queried him flabbergasted.

"Well I do have a Pidgey too, but yeah Efi was all I had to help with. Turned out that the bomb he set off, did actually wake everyone up too, but Efi had apparently unlocked our door during the night at some point, so I was the only one able to get out of their room." Ash replied after some thought. "For a first trainer battle, it was probably something I wouldn't want to do again, considering it was five Pokémon against one." Ash scowled slightly.

"You managed that on your first battle?" Oak replied in slight disbelief. "Wait, bomb!?" he hissed suddenly.

"He blew the roof off Professor." Ash replied glibly. "Not a very smart criminal I guess."

"How's Efi by the way? That must have been hard, and shame on you for getting her into a situation like that!" Oak continued, glossing over Ash's criminal evaluation.

"Having her beauty sleep. No trouble at all." Ash replied deadpan.

"Oh." Oak responded eloquently.

"She only took a Shock Wave attack, but I grounded it with Iron Tail, so it didn't do anything." Ash pointed out, causing Oak to nod impressed.

"A good use of a move to neutralise electricity." Oak nodded at him. "Well as long as everything is fine. But for my poor old heart, don't put yourself in such a situation again. I hope you understand how much worse that could have gone." He beseeched him.

"I'll do my best." Ash shrugged simply, causing Oak to sigh.

"Delia will kill me if you end up getting yourself in big trouble. Just make sure you're safe."

"Of course Professor. I never really rush into things blind." Ash replied.

"True enough. Though I know the capability is there, remember your younger years?" Oak pointed out with a grim smile.

"Vividly." Ash responded simply. "Night old man, sorry for disturbing you."

"Goodnight Ash, and don't worry about it. I'll always make time for you, you know that my boy." Oak replied, before the screen blacked out.

"I'd love to see the look on the old coot's face when he realises that mom doesn't know about the Pokémon Center." He remarked almost evilly to himself. "With any luck, she'll give him an earful."

A loud clearing of a throat rang out behind him, causing him to yelp slightly in shock as his heart rate shot through the roof. He turned round, quickly schooling his face to show calmness.

As soon as he saw her though, that illusion was dispelled immediately. "The hell!?" he exclaimed incredulously.

She laughed throatily at his reaction, before it devolved into a series of snickers hidden behind a hand.

"Surprise?" she remarked with a slight purr to her voice. "Your nightwear certainly is one."

Forcefully ignoring her comment and devilish smirk, he slapped a hand to his forehead.

"What exactly are you doing here?" he asked flatly.

"Mm… A little of this and a little of that." She replied evasively.

"Business?" he queried her warningly.

"No of course not!" she exclaimed nervously. "It's just… uh…"

"Spit it out already." He ordered her coldly.

"Ah damn it, I only came to visit you, you ungrateful…" she retorted, before devolving into an unintelligible mixture of words obviously designed to be insults of some kind, though she couldn't seem to give voice to them.

"Ok." Ash responded smoothly, having lost any trace of negativity in his tone. "Though why visit me?"

"I was bored and I wanted to see an old friend of sorts." She shrugged in reply, causing him to sigh aggravated.

"An old friend. I guess it could be worded that way." He remarked after a moment. "Alright, it's six in the morning, and I probably won't be getting any sleep anyway. Just let me go have a shower and get changed, and I'll go meet you wherever it is you want to be."

"Alright." She nodded, surprising him slightly. "Out back by the battlefields then. I'll be there."

"See you then." Ash frowned subtly as she walked off, before turning around and grumbling to himself as he headed back to his room. "It's never just a normal thing with her though…"

* * *

**/**

"Look, it's been three years. Why now?" Ash asked her curiously as she seemed content to examine her fingernails while they sat on the viewing benches by the dirt battlefields.

"Honestly?" she raised an eyebrow at him with a small smirk on her face.

Ash knew that smirk didn't bode entirely well for him, but still decided to take the bait. "Yeah, honestly." He remarked carefully.

"Just wanted to see you Ketchum." She replied smoothly, resting her head on her hand, while her elbow remained propped up slightly by the back panels of the bench. "I'd heard you were finally hopping off your mother's teat this year." She added with pitch-perfect timing, smirk widening with every word and blue eyes lighting up devilishly.

"There it is." Ash rolled his eye at her crass humour.

"As if you expected anything different." She replied in a beat.

"Fair enough." Ash sighed as he shook his head wryly.

"Look Reena-" Ash began before she interrupted with a scowl.

"I hate being called that. It feels odd when someone uses my name."

"I know." He replied uncaring. "Whose fault is that?"

"Yours." She drawled, drawing her knees up onto the bench slightly as got more comfortable. "Please, you'll never win when it comes to an argument here. I have far too much experience in that department."

"And many others." She added with a coy smile.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Ash replied without missing a beat.

"Don't ask for something you can't handle Ketchum." She chuckled throatily, causing him to snap his mouth shut with an audible click. "Good boy." She added teasingly.

Ash refrained from complaining, but she obviously noticed the slightly irritated look in his eye, because her smile only got wider when their gazes crossed again.

"So what are you actually here for?" Ash asked seriously, playfulness suddenly gone from his demeanour.

Pouting slightly at his refusal to mess around anymore, she dropped the mischievous façade, replacing it with an equally serious look, though her blue eyes seemed to hold a faint trace of worry.

"I'm worried about you." She replied, drawing out a long sigh as though it was hard to get off her chest. "You're a reckless idiot to be perfectly honest, and when I heard you were finally going to go out into the big bad wilderness as they call it, I admit I freaked out a little bit."

"…"

"I'm not saying you can't handle yourself, but what happened with Rivers is just like you." She elaborated quickly avoiding telling him how she knew the name. "Look, if you get yourself hurt in some way, and I don't believe I'm saying this by the way, I'd hurt you twice as hard, just for making me worry dammit. And I'd make damn sure the lesson stuck. Hell, if not even that eye was enough to temper your hero complex, I worry for your sanity."

"But we barely know each other. Honestly, you know far more about me than I do you Reena." Ash finally got his voice back after a stunned moment. This time, she didn't react to the use of her surname, but simply seemed content to listen to him for the moment, peacefully.

"Seriously, why do I matter to someone like you of all people?" Ash asked her dumbfounded.

"Because." She replied evasively, eyeing her own hands for the moment.

"Why?" Ash asked again more forcefully this time, staring at her intensely.

"You just do." She sighed wearily.

"I can't just accept that." Ash grumbled before grabbing her shoulders firmly, forcing her to look at him directly. "Now tell me, why does someone you've seen barely a few times at best, matter to you?"

He continued to stare into her slightly conflicted blue eyes, even as she seemed to try and shy away from him. He knew that if she really wanted to, she could have thrown him off rather easily, but she seemed to be slightly transfixed with his brown eye. He didn't know why, but he _needed_ to know. It was as though something was telling him that if he didn't do this now, he'd never get the chance again, and that made him feel ever so empty all of a sudden. He didn't really believe in Efi when she told him about the possibilities of Future Sight, but he indulged her sometimes. Now that he seemed to experiencing some kind of future sight shtick, he was far less inclined to rubbish the thing as a whole.

"You're my only friend." She eventually replied, closing her eyes as she did so. "I have my Pokémon, and that's fine, but outside of that… You're basically the closest thing I can consider to a friend. I don't even know if that's what it is, but for some reason, you're the only person other than myself that I actually give a damn about."

"Get it now idiot?" she asked him with a slightly weak smile. "We're both rather crap at this human social thing, but that's what makes you more understanding of me as a person."

"People I know, know full well I don't care about them. They're all worthless to me." She continued. "You've told me before that it's not a bad thing, but I found out it wasn't entirely true these last few years, where you're concerned."

"At that time, I didn't even consider my own Pokémon as worth anything to me." She reminisced slightly. "Then I met you and that nutty Espeon out by Oak's Ranch. It was ridiculous. I found it laughable that you basically seemed to be my entire opposite, but you told me that wasn't true."

"Honestly, I can't remember everything you said, probably because half of it was pure Tauros-manure designed to confuse me." She chuckled wryly, as Ash's hands dropped back to his lap, looking at her carefully. "All I remember you saying to me was that it's okay to be whoever I want. Don't have regrets."

"…"

"By the way, calling me a monster stung just a little once I started considering you as someone who actually understood me, but it didn't bother me at the time, because that's all I was, to be perfectly honest. That said…" she trailed off, looking at Ash thoughtfully, before she suddenly rammed a fist into his stomach. "Only fair I suppose hmm Ketchum?" she asked him rhetorically as he doubled over, wheezing for breath. She had a really mean sucker punch.

"Good punch." Ash choked out slightly complimentary.

"Why thank you." She replied with a small smirk, bringing up her normal façade once more. "Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you knew that there are other people out there who gave a damn about your well-being. Hell if I can honestly figure out when I learnt that I cared, but there you have it."

"By the way, my Blue's missed you a great deal." She added, blue eyes glinting mischievously. "Fancy giving that Espeon of yours a workout?"

"Be my guest." Ash blanched suddenly, causing Renee's smile to drop suddenly.

"Huh?" she asked confusedly.

"If you want to wake up an incredibly violent female Espeon who's barely had any sleep all night, just for a battle, you're on your own there, because I guarantee I'll be in the next town, just for safety's sake." He replied so seriously, that she almost thought he was trying to pull off some kind of joke, but she just couldn't see any hint of it at all.

"Maybe next time?" she asked slightly nervously.

"Next time. She'll be happy to play with Sally at some point." He replied glibly.

"Sally?" she asked him curiously, cocking her head to the side slightly, making her look far less imposing, and quite alluring, though Ash didn't voice this out loud.

"Yeah. Efi liked that nickname." Ash replied smoothly.

"He's not gonna be happy with that." She responded seriously.

"That was the point."

"Oh."

* * *

**AN 17.09.2014**

**Welcome to the third installment of Evolution, the masterpiece of a novel that is widely acclaimed… wait… no, that's not the right personality. Welcome to chapter three of Evolution. I altered the title of this one because I reworked my original plan which included the Rocket Trio, then decided that was far too comedic, and it's extremely annoying to write a serious part with those three in it when all you can think of is that damn bloody motto. See my issue huh? Not to say there is no humorous moments in the fic as a whole. As a Pokémon fic, I feel I have to keep it light-hearted in parts, but mixing the slightly serious tone with the rest of it is a difficult practice though it sounds easy. I'm perfectly capable of keeping the balance as a whole, because I've done it before though with a different fandom, but there are dark arcs where there's not much of a bright side to see. The endings are usually a thrill of some kind though. **

**Also Renee is a made up surname for the character Ash meets here. The surname has a meaning in relation to the person, though it may throw you on the wrong track. I kept her description deliberately vague, but it's not too difficult. It is a surname, merely because I kept their conversation based around surnames, as such, she only refers to him as Ketchum when using a name. Strictly speaking, not a lot of characters have surnames either, so yeah. I can understand people using their Japanese names as surnames, but it does annoy others. What do you guys think? I mean, I don't mind using names like Cynthia Shirona for example, mainly because that's a ridiculously familiar name to everyone here and it flows ridiculously well. **

**Mack Rivers is also just a throwaway O.C Rocket at the moment, who I may include later in some fashion, but I didn't develop him much simply because I had no plans to at the time. He achieves what I wanted to achieve, but I think I should probably tie in his arrest to ongoing stuff at some point. I'll think on that, but it would be a while yet anyway.**

**Next time, Viridian Forest, and reaching Pewter.**


End file.
